Freemasons in Wilmington - The First Steps to Become a Freemason

For this week’s edition of Freemasons in Wilmington, we will talk about the process of becoming a Freemason in Massachusetts.  There are three basic qualifications to join, you must be a man, at least 18 years of age and have a belief in a supreme being. Once a man is found qualified to join, the process begins at the lodge having an informal interview with Master of the Lodge and a couple senior members before any formal paperwork is completed.  The informal interview is to make sure that Freemasonry is a good fit for the man and that he in turn would be a good fit for the lodge.  After the brief interview the applicant is asked to fill out a formal application for membership. The completed application is announced to the membership and an investigating committee is formed to review the candidate’s application and background which includes a more formal interview with the candidate. After the interview with the candidate is completed and references have been checked, the committee reports it findings to the Lodge at the next monthly meeting. A majority of the investigating committee must approve the applicants advance towards membership, after doing so the Master of the Lodge will call for a vote on the application by all those present at the meeting.  Freemasons vote by secret ballot, we do so using a balloting box that has two ballots, white balls are for a favorable vote, and black cubes are for a negative vote. Many years ago we changed the No vote ballot to a cube so that the man balloting could easily distinguish the difference between a Yes white ball and a No black cube.  Upon completion of the voting, a drawer containing all the ballots is removed from the ballot box.  If only white balls are seen then the candidate’s application has been approved for membership, if there is just one black cube, then the application is rejected.  More than likely, the ballot cast will be favorable because we try and do our due diligence ahead of time to make sure there are no issues with the candidate and try to resolve those issues prior to any balloting on the application.  If the ballot is unfavorable, the applicant has to wait six months before re-applying to our or any other lodge in the State.  Favorable, then the process of becoming a Master Mason begins.

 Next week, our meeting and what we do behind closed doors.