Becoming a Freemason can be one of the most significant events of your life. From the moment you become a Brother, you will feel immediate acceptance and Brotherly love. So where do you begin?
Qualifications
- Membership in a Masonic Lodge is open to all men 18 years of age or older — regardless of race, color, or religion. Our membership requirements are very clear:
- You must be of good character and reputation. You’ll have to provide evidence of living a positive life
- You must believe in a Supreme Being. This belief is not proscribed — rather, we encourage you to be steadfast in the faith of your choice.
The First Steps
Start the process by completing a petition (application) for membership, which you can obtain from the Lodge Secretary, or get from a Mason you know.
If you don’t know a Mason, just stop by our Lodge building, which is located at 4821 West 124th Street, Savage, MN 55378 around 6:00 p.m. on the 1st Tuesday of the month and we’ll be happy to introduce you whoever is there and get you started with your petition.
The next step is to submit your petition to the Lodge. The petition is read in a Lodge meeting and referred to a committee (usually composed of three members). This committee then interviews you, sometimes at home, or in the local coffee shop. This is your chance to ask as many questions as you can think of about Freemasonry and the fraternity. In turn the brothers will get to know you a bit and learn about your background.
After the interview, the committee reports its findings to the Lodge, and a secret ballot is taken. If the vote is favorable, you’ll be notified by a call from one of our officers and you’ll be given a date to start the degree program.
The Degree Process
Our Fraternity’s private nature sometimes creates misconceptions about our “initiation ceremonies.” Rest assured that we are a moral institution whose tenets are Friendship, Morality, and Brotherly Love. Masonry teaches us to practice charity and benevolence, and to revere ordinances of — but not replace — any man’s religion. Quite simply, our Fraternity exists to make good men better.
Our three degrees are serious, educational, time-tested teachings. Each degree has a primary lesson. The first teaches us our duty to God. The second teaches us our duty to our neighbors. And the third degree teaches us our duty to ourselves.
To convey our teachings, we use ritual, ceremony, drama, lectures, and sometimes even musical accompaniment. You’ll work closely with a mentor who will help you learn some of the key material in the Ritual. After each degree you’ll be asked to complete a proficiency to demonstrate your knowledge of the material.
Upon the completion of the third degree, you’ll become a Master Mason, and be eligible for all that Masonry has to offer you, which includes:
- Worldwide Brotherhood
- Fellowship
- Male bonding
- Meaningful community service
- Camaraderie with other moral men
- Much more
It’s our sincere hope that you’ll consider becoming a Free and Accepted Mason, and sharing the feeling of friendship and Brotherly love that Freemasons have enjoyed from time immemorial. We look forward to meeting you.