Freemasons in Wilmington - Inside the Lodge Room

For this week’s edition of Freemasons in Wilmington we will cast some light on what Freemasons actually do behind closed doors.  As you can imagine, just like any typical organization, at our monthly meetings (Friendship Lodge meets on the third Wednesday of the month) we have a general business meeting.  Our business meeting consists of discussions regarding current lodge activities, a treasurer’s report on our financial accounts, review of meeting minutes, reading of any correspondence, reports on any ill or distressed brothers, and any other business that should come before the lodge.  If we are, as Freemasons say “working candidates”, that is initiating new candidates for membership; in addition to our business meeting we conduct initiation degrees for the candidates.  As discussed in my previous postings, there are three initiatory degrees in Freemasonry, Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft and Master Mason.  Each degree is composed of a series of allegorical lectures based on Biblical stories and Masonic legend, dating back thousands of years to the building of King Solomon’s Temple.  The lectures, or as Freemasons regard to as lessons, teaches the candidate about the history of Freemasonry and what it means to be a Mason, based on our three primary tenets of Friendship, Morality and Brotherly Love.  Thru these lessons the candidate is taken on a journey thru ancient history and discovers the meaning behind the building of the temple and our relationship with God and our fellow man.  Now remember, Freemasonry is not a religion, although all Masons do believe in a higher being, but we do not base our lessons on any particular religion, but are instead based on stories from the Old Testament.  The particular wording of each lesson I cannot reveal, but what I can tell you that they provide the candidate with a new perspective on who he is and what his relationship is to God, his family and his neighbors.  Thru these lessons, Freemasonry provides the opportunity for men to better themselves thru masonry.

To find out more if Freemasonry is for you, please visit www.askafreemason.org or visit Friendship Lodge at 32 Church Street in Wilmington on April 6^th from 9AM – 3PM at our annual spring Open House, where you can meet Masons from your home town and find out all the answers to your questions. 

Next week’s discussion – Wilmington Freemasons opens its doors to the public