Visiting Lodges

If you are a mason, and you bother to talk to people who have been a mason for many years, try quizzing them about what is the best element of freemasonry to them. Right up there as a favourite is visiting other lodges. As a freemason, I believe you have a right to visit any Grand Lodge of England Lodge in the country or worldwide. I have found the distinction between visiting and being a guest to be very different. There are many ways to achieve either way but it is definitely something that you should do as soon as you are able.Visiting, obviously means turning up under your own steam, generally without having been invited. I say generally, because top brass (high ranking officials, tend to visit but by arrangement also) whereas, myself as a minion might just turn up unannounced at a regular meeting of another lodge. I have always considered this option to be the least preferred of the two as it just seems so impolite. I love the whole process of being a guest of another lodge, that is a wonderful experience and can be experienced in many different ways according to how you feel comfortable.

You can be a guest paid for by your inviting mason, they look after you by paying for your meal and drinks. This is great and so awesome to feel, it really makes you feel special in a way that is difficult to describe. You feel so important, whatever your rank or level in life. Or, you can be invited and offer to pay your way, to alleviate expectations and share drink with your host. I have found this to be my preferred method, obviously it changes in individual circumstances.

The thing about being a guest or visitor is that you can sit back and observe ritual and practice totally free of the pressure you might feel in your own lodge, and this makes it a wonderful experience giving you the opportunity to see different aspects that you might not see in your own ritual or position. Emphasis from different lodges on areas of ritual or festive board causes a different viewpoint to consider the ritual and makes you think and make a daily advancement in masonic knowledge.

Sometimes you might be asked to respond to a toast, but this can be a pleasure when you stop fretting and just think about why it has been an enjoyable night. Whilst freemasonry is spread all over the world and is the same organisation, ultimately each lodge being private, has variances in ritual that are subtle, or in some cases dramatic, either way by observing these differences finding something to say is usually easy. Some lodges feel very friendly, some feel very relaxed, some feel very formal, some feel slow, some are fast, some worry about the ritual and some don’t. You see, it is a reflection of the world, so many differences that are there to be observed and appreciated as a part of the whole, not separate or independent things.

Most recently I have backed away slightly from lodge work and concentrated on guest visiting and making an effort to observe and meet new people. I have not enjoyed my masonry more than I am right now. It has become a part of my masonry. I have friends who are good at ritual, some who aren’t I support them all the same, fundamentally it isn’t about the ritual it is about who they are and what they bring to the lodge by way of knowledge, and work.

Christmas is a great time to get out and visit a few lodges, so if you are a new member, get out and visit. make some calls and find your way to a whole new element of freemasonry. I notice over the years that a lot of masons wait until they have done a few ceremonies before they have the courage to go out and visit. I have seen a progressive lodge taking out junior members to arranged meetings so that they can experience visiting and seeing different ritual a great idea for the retention project of trying to keep people interested in freemasonry.

So If I havent been to your lodge, yes I would love to visit, my ritual is stability and in all probability extremely different to your ritual so it will be fun. Please feel free to talk to me, if you know me, contact me, otherwise try commenting below, maybe tell me about your best visit, or somewhere you would like to visit.