Tonight at Gray Lodge #329 here in Houston, I was initiated as an Entered Apprentice Freemason. An online friend from from Austin was nice enough to drive down to meet me and attend the ceremony, which was really cool.
Thanks to him and all the Brethren at the Lodge who made this an extremely exciting and memorable night and the beginning of something I’ve wanted to do for years.
Amy and I attended dinner and the open portion of last night’s Stated Meeting, and got to see a great speech by Rex Hutchens, author of “A Bridge to Light“. He is a great speaker and a funny guy - I’ll be buying his book soon.
Just spoke to the Sr. Deacon of Gray Lodge a few minutes ago, and the vote last night was all favorable. I’m in! My initiation as an Entered Apprentice Mason will be next Thursday night.
I finally heard from the Investigative Committee and met with them after work on September 2nd. The interview went well, and was nothing at all like the interrogation that I expected. Two of the interviewers were Masons that I had met during the dinner back on August 6th.
Due to red tape my membership could not be voted on during the monthly meeting on the 3rd of September; the vote had to be postponed to the October 1st meeting. The problem was that I needed a certified copy of my birth certificate instead of a photocopy. Thanks to the Internet, UPS, and the Oklahoma Department of Vital Records I finally turned in a certified copy on Thursday the 4th.
I’ve been told that the Investigative Committee’s report was entirely favorable and there shouldn’t be a problem with the vote on the 1st. Amy and I will be attending the dinner and open portion of that meeting to hear a Masonic speaker who is coming in from out of town.
My initiation as an Entered Apprentice Mason has been tentatively scheduled for the evening of Thursday, October 9th.
I attended the dinner before tonight’s monthly Stated Meeting at Gray Lodge #329. Met some great folks, and got to attend an awards ceremony where they handed out 25 and 40-year membership pins and certificates.
My petition (application) was on the agenda to be read tonight; now I just get to wait and be contacted by the Investigative Committee.
Went to another informal meeting tonight at Gray Lodge #329. Turned in my petition (after having it signed by a few guys willing to be my “top line signers”), met a few other people who weren’t able to attend last week, and had a generally good evening.
Next week, Amy and I will be attending dinner at the lodge on Wednesday before their monthly Stated Meeting where my petition will be presented, and the formal process begins.
After inquires to several local Masonic lodges over the past couple of weeks, I was invited to Gray Lodge #329’s informal educational meeting last Thursday.
I can say without a doubt that it was one of the most enjoyable couple of hours I’ve had in the recent past. I met a very friendly bunch of guys, saw a really nice lodge building, and had a good hamburger. During dinner, there was no talk of world domination, but there were a few complaints about Windows Vista.
I’ve decided to petition this lodge for the degrees of Freemasonry, and will be turning in my paperwork next Thursday. After that, my petition will get reviewed at their next stated meeting in early August, and then an investigational committee will be assigned to interview me. If that goes favorably, the lodge will then vote on my petition.
Surely I can’t be the only person who noticed the similarity of the App Store icon to the Masonic emblem.
Speaking of Freemasonry, I’m trying to find if anyone I know is a member so that I can inquire about joining. My grandfather was a Master Mason; he wanted me to get involved when I was younger but I never had the time.
One of the things I inherited from him (other than the money that paid for my college education) was this Masonic watch fob. I had been in line to also inherit his Masonic ring, but some unscrupulous “friends” of his talked him into rewriting his will in their favor when he wasn’t of sound mind towards the end.
October 2008 Update: After some inquires and then an application, investigation, and voting process I was elected to receive the degrees of Masonry. On October 9th, 2008, I was initiated as an Entered Apprentice Mason at Gray Lodge #329 here in Houston.