who belongs to a Lodge

[koopkooper]

Was wondering if anybody is a member of some kind of Mens club like the Freemasons. It's a bit of a golden era thing to do.
I was invited to join the Freemasons by a guy I worked with once,went along to an open night but thought that it wasn't really something I'd get anything out of. Interestingly I think the concept is really dead. Most of the Gentlemen were in their 90's and the organisation was pretty low on numbers.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

freemasonry seems to be pretty big still her in Indiana.

I'm not a member of any such organisations. Good career move to join the masons in britain, though ...

bk

 

[J. M. Stovall]

My grandfather was a Mason. It's one of those things that sounds cool and Golden Era in theory, but the reality is it's not really the kind of scene I'd be interested in.

Maybe there needs to be a "Society of the Lounge".

 

[koopkooper]

society of the lounge

Hmmm I like that, we'll need a secret handshake and special headwear.
I suggest one must pile as many fedoras as one owns onto ones head lol

 

[Benny Holiday]

Koop, maybe we could start the Brotherhood of the Most Exalted Akubra or something! lol

My wife's uncle is a member of the Poor Knights of St John the Baptist and St Andrew, an organisation which raises funds for Scottish pipe bands and the preservation of the 'old ways', that is, Highland traditions. While I'm not sure about the ins and outs of the vows and oaths required on joining that lodge, in general I think it's a great thing that they seek to promote the old codes of living, of gentlemanly conduct, honour, virtue, respect, discipline, and chivalry. And as someone of Anglo-Celtic blood, who of us descended from such stock can balk at the stirring sound of the mass bagpipes playing and the display of martial tradition and heraldry the Scots groups present?

Oh, I should add that my mother made her debut in 1955 (at the age of 16) in the Sydney Town Hall. My Grandfather was a member of the Antediluvian Water Buffaloes, the ball's patrons.

 

[farnham54]

The lodge must really be hurting to have invited you; generally that's not the practice--"To be one, ask one"

I don't think just one night at a Lodge can really convey the significance of the organization, you really should look into the history of freemasonry (Jasper Ridley has a very good book out that is accurate and unbiased, called "the Freemasons"). As a teaser, here's a short list of things that can be attributed to Freemasons and their bretheren:

Scottish Independance
American Indpendance
American Constitution
End of the Cold War
Major numbers of Jews saved during the war
ALL shriner's childrens hospitals (arguably the best in the world; they save children for free.)

This is not meant to get political, folks, so please don't take it there. Freemasons have had a very influential hand in all of the above, sometimes completley responsible. I am not currently a mason; the dues are incredibly small but still a wee bit much for a college student, but I intend to be one someday. They are a grand organization which has done a LOT of great things, and they really embody the principles of the golden era (sans the negative stuff) perfectly.

Cheers
Craig

 

[Lincsong]

Did the Freemason's ask you to don a lamb's loin cloth and recite a book by candlelight?

 

[koopkooper]

No but I did ride a goat for a little while!lol

Craig I think they are struggling in Australia. The guy I worked with said that he'd put my name forward if I wanted to join. I simply got to go along one night for an open night and an explanation of what the masons do.
I was told it was one of the first open nights in a bid to attract more members.
Interestingly I am a Catholic and figured I couldn't belong but I was told neither side have an issue with it anymore.

I did enjoy the night and the people I met were very nice, I just don't think it was something I would like to spend my valuable time on.
My grandfather really enjoyed it, but he did tell me he joined in the late 20's early 30's simply to get good discounts on medication and food and what not.
He ended up really enjoying it. My grandmother says she always suspected they showed stag movies!!

 

[alphonse capone]

Bro AL

Koop, I'm a Freemason & a 32nd Degree S.R. Been a Brother for years. 3 time Past master.
AL

 

[scotrace]

Let's see, what are the possibilities?

Elk's
Moose
Eagles
Amvets
What else?

Then there are the "Civic Organizations"
Masons
Kiwanis
Lions
Jaycees
Rotary
What else?

They all seem to have elderly memberships and few young people coming up.

 

[carebear]

Kind of specific demographic, but...

DAR
VFW
Vietnam Vets MC
I recall reading more than one article discussing the aging out of civic groups, membership age averages are up in the 70's. (Rotary, being a business group with its practical networking side, gets a pass)

I believe it dates to (as usual) the hippies deciding that lodge's and such were reactionary groups who supported "the Man".

All it takes is one generation not doing something out of disdain and passing that attitude onto it's kids to break a chain of tradition.

Of course, just like all other old "group" activities problems, modern tech (in house entertainment) bears blame as well.

 

[Mr. Lucky]

Always partial to the Water Buffaloes myself.

 

[alphonse capone]

Lodge

"Masons are men who voluntarily asked to join a lodge. They were accepted because they were good men who believe in God and hold high ethical and moral ideals. I have never invited, I have been asked by one to join the Lodge 2b1ask1. Masonry is alive & doing very well all over the world. There are really so few "secrets" which a Mason is required to keep, and so much that he should be proud to proclaim to others, that his principal concern in answering questions is probably the doubt that he can give an adequate Masonic reply.
Bro Al

 

[farnham54]

No but I did ride a goat for a little while!lol

Craig I think they are struggling in Australia. The guy I worked with said that he'd put my name forward if I wanted to join. I simply got to go along one night for an open night and an explanation of what the masons do.
I was told it was one of the first open nights in a bid to attract more members.
Interestingly I am a Catholic and figured I couldn't belong but I was told neither side have an issue with it anymore.

I did enjoy the night and the people I met were very nice, I just don't think it was something I would like to spend my valuable time on.
My grandfather really enjoyed it, but he did tell me he joined in the late 20's early 30's simply to get good discounts on medication and food and what not.
He ended up really enjoying it. My grandmother says she always suspected they showed stag movies!!

It's very interesting; no matter where you go in the world you'll find freemasons. I certainly hope something can be done in Oz to pull it up; it is doing well in the US and parts of Canada, and of course Europe is booming.

The beauty of Masons is how inclusive they are--Al can correct me if I'm wrong, as he is 'in' and i'm merely looking o'er the window sill --It matters not if you are Catholic (though the Pope did and perhaps still does have an issue with freemasons, individual catholics can join), Protestant, Jewish, Muslim, Agnostic, or any other faith under the sun, their requirement is you believe in a higher power and you are a good person. I don't know of too many other groups that are that open, and I applaud the Masons for it.

Cheers
Craig

 

[Samsa]

The beauty of Masons is how inclusive they are--Al can correct me if I'm wrong, as he is 'in' and i'm merely looking o'er the window sill --It matters not if you are Catholic (though the Pope did and perhaps still does have an issue with freemasons, individual catholics can join), Protestant, Jewish, Muslim, Agnostic, or any other faith under the sun, their requirement is you believe in a higher power and you are a good person. I don't know of too many other groups that are that open, and I applaud the Masons for it.

Cheers
Craig

Individual Catholics cannot join unless they wish to be excommunicated.

 

[Mojito]

Craig I think they are struggling in Australia. The guy I worked with said that he'd put my name forward if I wanted to join. I simply got to go along one night for an open night and an explanation of what the masons do.
I was told it was one of the first open nights in a bid to attract more members.
Interestingly I am a Catholic and figured I couldn't belong but I was told neither side have an issue with it anymore.

Gentlemen in my family have had similar experiences, Koop - when I was growing up our neighbour was a pillar of local Freemasony. Top bloke. He regularly tried to sign up my father and brother. Dad demurred - he and his Catholic family had less than positive experiences with Freemasons in much earlier decades (I'm not saying that these difficulties were condoned by the Masonic movement of that earlier time, and I gather certainly are not today). The neighbour reassured him that there was no issue at all with Roman Catholics joining the Freemasons today, and what was more, the earlier "estrangement" - for want of a better word - was due to propogandists adverse to both groups and who had a vested interest in seeing that they were in opposition to each other. I don't endorse or comment on his interpretation, but this was his position.

My own experiences with the Freemasons (limited as they have been) have been positive. I've spent the last seven years researching a merchant mariner who was very much involved with the organisation while alive. When he died, Masonic rites were conducted at his graveside. His Lodge has been very helpful in answering my queries, and I look forward to acnknowledging their assistance when my work is finally ready for publication.

 

[Lady Day]

My brother is a Mason.
I dont know much about it tho.

LD

 

[RBH]

Been a Mason for 22 years, Past Master in 1997.
The Lodge is a good thing for any young man. It is somewhat like this Lounge,
YOU GET OUT OF IT - WHAT YOU PUT INTO IT !


A side note - some places have Lodges for female Masons.

 

[RBH]

Individual Catholics cannot join unless they wish to be excommunicated.

We have several Catholic masons in our lodge here. Several years back the Priest even closed with a prayer at one of our Catholic members Masonic graveside service.

 

[bowtieguyuk2000]

To join or not to join?

Speaking fronm a UK perspective, lodges aren'ty as "special" or influential as they may have been 20 or 30 years ago. I hadn't visited my old school for about 27 years but I decided to make a grand return! So I was invited to a Lodge barbecue (my old school had it's own lodge), so I approached with trepidation thinking "oooh, there will be there all these people who've really become something important in their field". But when I got there, I realised this was possibly nthe dullest bunch of old duffers I'd met in many a year and (not blowing my own trumpet here) that I was probably the most interesting person there, at least I still had a spark of life left in me!

I've always followed two maxims: Groucho Marx's "I wouldn't join any club that would have me as a member" and a more personalised one" I am my own club and I decide whom I want to have as members".

Works for me anyway.
Ray