Lodgeroom UK

I have the pleasure of being attached to a university scheme lodge. It is great to meet young minds interested in making theirselves better.

I am a fellowcraft and prepping to become mm. I am not a uni student and didn't know a mason so enquired via the askone website (i was the 100th signup in east kent province).

Prior to joining i often visited pop up stalls in towns and spoke to 2 lovely gentlemen referred from the ask one site but always found it difficult to progress past initial words. On the pop up stands there was never anybody i could relate to.

I personally feel that there needs to be a younger face of freemasonry, i was willing to get involved in any lodge irrespective of member ages but others may be assuaged by this.

When you're doing town pop ups, ask a younger member to pop along. If you don't have one, ask a local university lodge. I would be honored to be invited to represent masonry in local towns.

I just think that many people my age 32 are attracted by other younger people hence the university scheme popularity.

But i digress, this is the best thing ive ever chosen to do. The first 2 degress have made me such a kinder, morally sound and understanding person. Ive heard the 3rd is the best but fell in love with the 2nd degree working tools.

This love and passion is best shared by members with verve and vigour and hunger.

A warm welcome to LRUK!

Stgermain wrote:I have the pleasure of being attached to a university scheme lodge. It is great to meet young minds interested in making theirselves better.

I am a fellowcraft and prepping to become mm. I am not a uni student and didn't know a mason so enquired via the askone website (i was the 100th signup in east kent province).

Prior to joining i often visited pop up stalls in towns and spoke to 2 lovely gentlemen referred from the ask one site but always found it difficult to progress past initial words. On the pop up stands there was never anybody i could relate to.

I personally feel that there needs to be a younger face of freemasonry, i was willing to get involved in any lodge irrespective of member ages but others may be assuaged by this.

When you're doing town pop ups, ask a younger member to pop along. If you don't have one, ask a local university lodge. I would be honored to be invited to represent masonry in local towns.

I just think that many people my age 32 are attracted by other younger people hence the university scheme popularity.

But i digress, this is the best thing ive ever chosen to do. The first 2 degress have made me such a kinder, morally sound and understanding person. Ive heard the 3rd is the best but fell in love with the 2nd degree working tools.

This love and passion is best shared by members with verve and vigour and hunger.

welcome and great enthusiasm.

Regarding the younger age group issue: I think we are in an age when ‘younger’ people desire instant results and as such a progressive organisation such as freemasonry can be a hard sell. I personally don’t think we should aim to ‘recruit’ from any particular age group but we should be more open (and we are I think!) about what freemasonry is and what it offers. Those who are drawn to it will find it when they are ready.

That being said there is no harm in more younger people joining!


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I was very impressed by the askone website. Where in Kent are you based, Bro? My work is based on the Kent / Sussex border.

All those older masons were younger masons once upon a time.....
The inter generational mix in freemasonry is one of the best things about it, you don't experience it many places in life

The age range in my Lodge is currently 24 to 87 and it is a thing of joy to see these gentlemen in fellowship and not a thought to their respective ages.

Mike Martin wrote:The age range in my Lodge is currently 24 to 87 and it is a thing of joy to see these gentlemen in fellowship and not a thought to their respective ages.

Truly is. Prior to joining this is something I'd never have experienced.

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Welcome
your making me feel old !
c'est la vie

Fraternal greetings from sunny Leith

MrBenn wrote:All those older masons were younger masons once upon a time.....
The inter generational mix in freemasonry is one of the best things about it, you don't experience it many places in life

Absolutely. When in my professional career I got my first major promotion I was line manager for staff up to 20 years older and younger than me - we all got along just fine and that is on of the reasons I find the current vogue for forming clubs/groups etc for "young" Masons to be completely counter intuitive to what I take to be the tenets of the Craft. I far prefer to see the formation of "light blue" clubs/groups if folk really feel a compelling need to move away from total inclusivity.

I think there is a differential between the age groups joining freemasonry

When I was initiated 20 months ago I was 52. Whilst the pace of progression I felt was slow after watching the Sky TV series I persevered and was raised last month.

I grew up without the internet or social media. Nothing was instant and my social persona ended when I left whatever group I was with. At home I was invisible and untouchable

So masonry felt comfortable and I could research it within bounds appropriate to my current degree using books as I had done with my career to date. I used the internet to download the fully emulated rituals through which I had progressed.

I'm not sure how younger or newer masons cope with the restrictive approach of masonry when they first join. You've joined us but we won't tell you anything! I mean seriously what other aspect of modern life treats new members like children?

I'm keen to start a Light Blue Club in my lodge because I want to help new masons get through this stonewall approach and quickly learn about the rich history of our order. Since my raising I have felt unleashed to delve into masonic writings and research papers and now so much is making sense now


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JohnXRV wrote:I think there is a differential between the age groups joining freemasonry

When I was initiated 20 months ago I was 52. Whilst the pace of progression I felt was slow after watching the Sky TV series I persevered and was raised last month.

I grew up without the internet or social media. Nothing was instant and my social persona ended when I left whatever group I was with. At home I was invisible and untouchable

So masonry felt comfortable and I could research it within bounds appropriate to my current degree using books as I had done with my career to date. I used the internet to download the fully emulated rituals through which I had progressed.

I'm not sure how younger or newer masons cope with the restrictive approach of masonry when they first join. You've joined us but we won't tell you anything! I mean seriously what other aspect of modern life treats new members like children?

I'm keen to start a Light Blue Club in my lodge because I want to help new masons get through this stonewall approach and quickly learn about the rich history of our order. Since my raising I have felt unleashed to delve into masonic writings and research papers and now so much is making sense now


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Good for you John! One of the reasons that the newer brethren aren't told about the whys and wherefores of freemasonry is that there are very few longer serving brethren capable of doing so. For a lot of them, a lodge meeting is simply to confer degrees by ceremony and then to the bar and to dinner - here I'm speaking of UGLE. Ireland and Scotland are different. For you and others who really want to get to grips with freemasonry, you might find a masonic research lodge in your vicinity, to at least visit. Further, if you visit the Quatuor Coronati Lodge web site, you can join its correspondence circle for its annual publication of research transaction papers, ask questions, come to our meetings, even contribute your own work and ideas. Being the world premier evidence-based masonic research lodge, you can be sure of solid information. There's a wealth of information in the 'Research Resources' section.

If you have any problems with any of that, do come back here and I'll see what I can do to help you.

Trouillogan wrote:Good for you John! One of the reasons that the newer brethren aren't told about the whys and wherefores of freemasonry is that there are very few longer serving brethren capable of doing so. For a lot of them, a lodge meeting is simply to confer degrees by ceremony and then to the bar and to dinner - here I'm speaking of UGLE. Ireland and Scotland are different. For you and others who really want to get to grips with freemasonry, you might find a masonic research lodge in your vicinity, to at least visit. Further, if you visit the Quatuor Coronati Lodge web site, you can join its correspondence circle for its annual publication of research transaction papers, ask questions, come to our meetings, even contribute your own work and ideas. Being the world premier evidence-based masonic research lodge, you can be sure of solid information. There's a wealth of information in the 'Research Resources' section.

If you have any problems with any of that, do come back here and I'll see what I can do to help you.

Thank you Trouillogan

I have begun to look at the documents available from this site and also the Pietre-Stones site. I have looked at Quatuor Coronati and fully intend to join.

I was disciplined when I was in my first and second degrees and only read material (the ritual and lectures for each degree) for the degree I was in. I'm so glad I did because it made my third the special and perfect ceremony it should be.

As a new mason I didn't understand about the ladder of progression, the sequence of progression based on when you joined, and found the "get on with it yourself" approach strange. If I hadn't been reading the ritual for the ceremonies and the lectures, going to the LOI in my lodge and visiting other lodges I'm not sure I would be getting out of freemasonry that which I feel I am now. I have always been interested in history and am now able to research and learn so much having been raised. It's simple things like being able to research and then practice the grips for each degree. As I was going through you can only learn about that which is relevant to your own which limits matters when you have EAs and FCs together when they are downstairs out of lodge because a higher degree ceremony is being worked in the lodge. When asked by the lodge mentor "have you any questions" it was a bit stilted as brethren thought of something to ask when we hadn't been taught anything.

As I say now being raised I feel released to pursue studies at my own pace keeping them relevant to where I am in masonry i.e. just Craft for now until I begin Mark or Chapter. But whilst doing so I want to be there for other new masons to reassure and support them knowing how I felt as I went through the degrees, hence my keenness to start a local Light Blue Club with the support of my lodge and Province.

I do find this website a very useful resource, reading back through old posts, and the helpfulness of contributors is most welcomed by a neophyte such as myself. So thank you to you and others who take the time to respond to my posts and questions.

S&F

John

It's what we are here for, John. We try to be as helpful as possible.

The Quatuor Coronati Correspondence Circle subscription year starts in November, so that would seem to suit you. And it gives you the right to visit the lodge (although there often are non-members of the Circle present at most meetings) but not to vote on anything. Membership of the lodge itself is by invitation and mainly depends on the quality of any papers you present. So I guess that would be a little way down the line for you at the moment!

Looking forward to having you on board.

A friend of mine just died in Missouri
and when there for his masonic funeral
I was asked to help evaluate estate as he had quite a collection of historic masonic /bible story books and rare malts
Books included 10 years of QC, history of Royal order, local GL MO year books
sorry..... Grand Lodge of Missouri where he had been office bearer
all which I read as much as posible
also including local history as in James "Gang" All the Generals in Grey
and diz ah munchin re whisky

Troully our David has a new neighbour in that Dalkeith has been posted to RAF Lossie best wishes guys ! slainthe

eckywan2 wrote:Troully our David has a new neighbour in that Dalkeith has been posted to RAF Lossie best wishes guys ! slainthe

That'll be good for both. Thanks for the info.