Any Free and accepted gents out there?

Coolio....I suppose at least your not all banging on about the orange lodge...now there's a bunch of *******'s
 
cobwebscavern said:
fair enough analogy about the golf club etc. However would you get kicked out of said golf club for NOT employing that guy? Which did happen to a former mason I was friends with a few years back.
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Seriously?! Wow, thats rubbish. Like I said, I think that anyone that uses their connections to get where they want to be, regardless of job, club or group needs to be shot. Its tantamount to arselicking...
If anything, in our lodge, the opposite would be true - you choose someone for a job over someone else, simply because theyre a mason is reason enough to be dismissed.
 
Lynton said:
fair enough...........

just wondering......

I must admit I thought it was all "secret squirrel" nods and winks kind of stuff............quite enlightening............

Pretty sure it's not my cup of tea, but each to their own....... and as long as no one is being hurt, I have no probs whatsoever as to what groups of adults want to get up to... (yes, I know that sounds wrong :lol: )


Would be interested to know (learn) what happens at a typical lodge meeting though..... as in or the link above... with the WM at one end and all the "minions" seated around in various positions according to x y or z..........
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Lynton, there are no secrets really any more, its all available online, just do a bit of googling and you can pretty much find out what happens in any lodge meeting
 
AdeM said:
Fair play to you Vaughan, that took a lot of balls, (Black Balls :) ) sorry couldnt resist, might catch up with you at a meeting sometime soon, I will be the one with a Nikon round my neck at the Festive Board
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:lol: that is brill!! Thank you sir. Well the full story will be in the next publication of Arena, they asked me to write my story and start a column on my progress ;)

munch said:
But golf clubs etc don't claim to be it doing good for humanity, that is the difference.
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Well no, but without trying to blow our own trumpet, we do give the most money to charity in the UK bar the national lottery...

cobwebscavern said:
Coolio....I suppose at least your not all banging on about the orange lodge...now there's a bunch of *******'s
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Call me simple but who the hell are the orange lodge?! :shrug:
 
Time to hit the sack, been a very enjoyable evening chewing the cud about Freemasonry, time to get my West End Ritual book out :)

Good night all and in the words of Dave Allen, May your God go with you :)
 
AdeM said:
Time to hit the sack, been a very enjoyable evening chewing the cud about Freemasonry, time to get my West End Ritual book out :)

Good night all and in the words of Dave Allen, May your God go with you :)
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Indeed! Same here, I suppose I should start learning my lines for Monday as well... :lol:
 
As some one posted earlier you don't see masons' rattling tins, so the money comes from where?

Oh yes all those generous members who are unemployed.

Yes you are right I do not feel comfortable about masons and where there money come from.

No doubt there are good people in the masons, just like there are good catholic priests and we all know how much that church tried to cover up its perverts. (not saying masons are perverts (although statistically some of them will be)just using it as a comparison)
 
munch said:
As some one posted earlier you don't see masons' rattling tins, so the money comes from where?

Oh yes all those generous members who are unemployed.

Yes you are right I do not feel comfortable about masons and where there money come from.

No doubt there are good people in the masons, just like there are good catholic priests and we all know how much that church tried to cover up its perverts. (not saying masons are perverts (although statistically some of them will be)just using it as a comparison)
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And your point is
 
I take it there's no 30 degree members around here then . . . of course not.

Shame that those of you in the first few degrees are usually genuinely good people, who have no idea of the upper workings of the brotherhood, and probably never will. :shake:
 
MacPingu said:
I take it there's no 30 degree members around here then . . . of course not.
Shame that those of you in the first few degrees are usually genuinely good people, who have no idea of the upper workings of the brotherhood, and probably never will. :shake:
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I have just re-read my own post, and will apologise to those of you who might take it as a flame. It isn't my intention and I will back down from making anymore comments as this is the wrong place . . . . . :bonk:
 
God said:
Ah, ive heard that already, but alas its just the passing, so 2nd, Raising next year maybe! Im only a youngen ;) Im sure it cant top the goats and sacrifices of the 1st though... ;)

Yeah pretty much! Though ironically MMH has just put their costs up above GQS so were buggered again! Savages. At least we get the festive board on site, and the bar is dirt cheap, small things I suppose... :D
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Was the original bu99ery part of the initiation rites or have they dropped that now it's legal?
 
MacPingu said:
I take it there's no 30 degree members around here then . . . of course not.

Shame that those of you in the first few degrees are usually genuinely good people, who have no idea of the upper workings of the brotherhood, and probably never will. :shake:
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I just ask my father in law, he has been through it all, I havnt but does that make me poorer freemason, I think not, Im blissfully unaware of some of the stuff he has gone through but I have no real desire to either, Im happy with my status as a Master Mason
 
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AdeM said:
I just ask my father in law, he has been through it all, I havnt but does that make me poorer freemason, I think not, Im blissfully unaware of some of the stuff he has gone through but I have no real desire to either, Im happy with my status as a Master Mason
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Well said, it,s sometimes strange to think that it is mostly only people not in the masonic order that have a problem of not knowing, yet Freemasons never have that problem.:thumbs:
 
MacPingu said:
I take it there's no 30 degree members around here then . . . of course not.

Shame that those of you in the first few degrees are usually genuinely good people, who have no idea of the upper workings of the brotherhood, and probably never will. :shake:
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And your point is?

Actually those whom I know to be in what you call the higher echelons almostly certainly don't have any spare time to loiter in fora like this one. They'll be out on masonic activities most nights of the week.
 
To those in the know, I done my passing last night. :)

Thoroughly enjoyed it, even had a huge lecture on the history of the tracing board which was a very nice addition. Onwards!
 
I have sort of been on the receiving end of the Masons charity work.
The hospital i used to work in received a regular supply of teddies to give to children who had to undergo painful procedures. I think we also got Christmas gifts for the children as well. It made a real difference to kids especially the younger ones.

Personally though i really don't see the need for all the cloke and dagger stuff to raise money for good causes, but then boys will be boys and and as someone said its just boy scouts for grown ups. I don't have an issue with it its just not for me, not that it matters cos the boys are still too scared to have girls in their club :p

Congrats for passing through btw :)
 
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Toothie said:
. I don't have an issue with it its just not for me, not that it matters cos the boys are still too scared to have girls in their club :p
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Oh but the Girls have their own club as well, my mother in law was one of the more senior ones :) They live here
 
I'm reluctant to post on this thread as it may start the big debate again!

However, I'm a mason and proud of it, so in the interest of saying hello to my fellow Masons I will post.

I'm currently Master of my Lodge (Kingsway 7870) until November, when I'll be happy for a rest!
If you're a local Brother feel free to PM me, I'm happy to visit if commitments permit.

I'll be Z in Chapter next April too. It was going to be been this April, but we three agreed to stay as we were for a year.

For those who believe we only look after ourselves, well we don't.
As Master of the Lodge, I'll be deciding in November where the money we raised this year will be going.
'Help for Heroes' and a children's charity (probably 'Wish Upon A Star', but I've not decided yet) will be getting most of the money between them after a small donation to the building.
 
"dragonfly calling wolf den, dragonfly calling wolf den" "the clown has a red nose" i repeat, "the clown has a red nose", sorry just my silly sense of humour, i once stopped in a travel lodge.
 
Bloody children!!!!!






































:lol: :lol:
 
gazza2168 said:
yeh but c'mon god, you do love us all !!!!, lol
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When I find the ***ker thats been spreading that rumour for 2000 years theres going to be hell to pay! No pun intended... :suspect:
 
God said:
Call me simple but who the hell are the orange lodge?! :shrug:
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Here is a snippet from wikipedia about the Orange Lodge:


The Orange Institution (more commonly known as the Orange Order or Orange Lodge) is a Protestant fraternal organisation based mainly in Northern Ireland and Scotland, though it has lodges throughout the Commonwealth and United States. The Institution was founded in 1796 near the village of Loughgall in County Armagh, Ireland. Its name is a tribute to Dutch-born Protestant William of Orange, who defeated the army of Catholic James II at the Battle of the Boyne (1690).
Politically, the Orange Institution is strongly linked to unionism.Observers have accused the Institution of being sectarian, triumphalist and supremacist.Catholics, and those whose close relatives are Catholic, are banned from becoming members.Non-creedal and non-trinitarian denominations (such as Mormons, Unitarians and some branches of Quakers) are also ineligible for membership, although these denominations do not have large congregations where most Orange lodges are found


heres the link



as freemasons are self funding and how much does it cost each member?

is there a yearly joining fee?

Just wondering
 
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archangel said:
as freemasons are self funding and how much does it cost each member?

is there a yearly joining fee?

Just wondering
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We pay annual fees to Grand Lodge and an annual capitation (which varies for each Lodge/ building) to the building and is basically to cover the running of the building. In addition, as we have a meal (known as the festive board) after each official Lodge meeting, there is a payment for this.
 
slimboy fat said:
I'm interested to know how that works. Genuinely.
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Well the way I see it is this - believing in the creation story as a whole is pretty far fetched, even for the most devoted believers in God. I believe in the theory of evolution but the god part comes in at the point life began - ie it didnt start from nothing, and I believe that through time god has helped us along the way as far as conciousness goes.

I know it sounds a bit silly but to me it encompasses everybodys beliefs including my own. :)
 
BarryG said:
Yep, I think there were issues with "cops and robbers" being members in the past. Not anymore, at all.

l
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I wouldn't like to be the one that has to tell Kenneth Noye that his membership has been cancelled, when he finally gets out :lol:
 
God said:
Have you never thought of finding out what all the stories are about?
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I know what the stories are all about... Having had a Father who was a Mason, a master Mason, who had passed through his own lodge and also Grand Lodge, and also as a Pianist was invited to play and attended many other lodges I knew lots of what went on.

What is interesting is that through his final four and a half years of his life we watched a strong man crumble before our very eyes with Parkinson's to nothing more than an empty shell before his death, the Masonic movement were nowhere to be seen to offer him or my Mother any kind of help or support.

Sadly, the Masonic movement is no better for looking after it's own than a golf club in my eyes - and he belonged to one of those for over 40 years as well!
 
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Not meaning to revive a really old thread here but i had my initiation last week. It Was ...... Different. Saying that I had a good time and look forward to future participation. Any others in these here parts from east anglia?
 
I grew up in Scotland where Freemasonry was quite strong, and my old man was a Mason, but I think it was quite secretive in those days and he never said much about it. I know his father had also belonged to a Lodge, and Dad asked me if I wanted to join when I was about 21. I didn't take him up on it, he never mentioned it again, and I left the UK shortly after that. He died a long time ago, and I have sometimes wondered if I should have followed the tradition. Do I regret this? Maybe.
 
"upright men of sound judgement and strict morals" - herrumph! My father and one of my uncles were masons, and several times I was "approached" to join, but each time I turned it down - on a personal level, I've got a million things I'd rather be doing of a Thursday evening than spending it in the company of men in suits.
I came in contact with many masons, not least by photographing innumerable "ladies' nights" and have come to the conclusion that like in most areas of society there is good and bad - I've had an employer tell me the only reason he was in the masons for what he could get out of them - he was the member of a small coterie of them who "ran" my home town - down the years they ruined the place, and made a quiet fortune "fiddling" the planning process to their own ends.
I was also once threatened by an odious and intemperate one that he'd use his "masonic influence" to ensure I'd never work again - I mentioned it to another very senior mason of my acquaintance - the next time I saw the boozer, he was more than somewhat chastened (he may have sensed the tide coming in........)
There is no doubt that many lodges are small family things, with 2 or 3 family names enjoying the social and charitable aspects, sadly there are also those who use it to feather their own nests, and in my experience, some of the police and "solicitors" lodges are full of the most appallingly arrogant and obnoxious people I've ever come across (who weren't above nicking my photos off the table!)

I'd often chat to some of them at the functions I photographed, and many bemoaned the fact that membership was dwindling, I suspect because many don't find it relevant in the modern world
 
Holy thread revival Batman!!!! :eek:
 
Roll your left trouser leg up and expose your right nipple, quick!
 
viv1969 said:
Holy thread revival Batman!!!! :eek:
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Just don't call it necromancy..

They don't do that. Anymore.

They prefer the term post mortem communications when discussing the modern rituals.
 
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