How To Join Freemasonry

Joining the fraternity of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons requires that a man, of his own free will, petition a Masonic Lodge for the Degrees in Masonry.   By our ancient custom, no mason ever asks someone to join our fraternity, it must first be initiated by the petitioners request.  You do not need to have a relative or friend who is a Mason; simply be of good character and have a desire to improve yourself.   Below are the general steps that someone considering membership should follow. Gray Lodge welcomes your interest and we are happy to answer any questions you may have.

Ask for Information

If you know a Mason, ask him about the fraternity. Don’t be shy, we love talking to anyone  interested in Masonry. If you don’t know a Mason, just use the Lodge Locator to find a lodge near you to contact. You can also use the “Ask a Mason” feature on our Grand Lodge website.

Visit Lodges

At Gray Lodge, we meet for Masonic education every Thursday night beginning at 6PM.  This is a perfect time to drop by and get to know us.  Come and meet our members and ask questions.  We’ll be happy to see you & show you around.   There are thirty two lodges in the Houston area and choosing the right lodge for you is important.  The lodge you join will be your home lodge for life.  We recommend that you visit other lodges as well as ours;  that you visit as many as you can and get a feeling for the different lodges so that you pick the one that best meets your needs.

Request a Petition

After you have made your decision, request a petition from a Mason or from the lodge you would like to join. You can also find a PDF version of the petition here. Your petition will require the signature of several masons

 

 

If you don’t know any Masons, ask the lodge you’re petitioning for advice. At Gray we will be happy to help you.  We like first for you to only get to know us and come by often and visit.  Generally, once you have established friends here, finding the brothers to recommend you will not be a problem at all.

Submit Your Petition

Turn in your completed petition to the lodge you would like to join. The mostAsk important advice we can give in filling out the petition is to be truthful.  Truth is one of our main tenets.   Your petition will be received by the lodge and will be read during a stated meeting.   Now that the lodge has your petition, these are the actions you can expect the lodge to take:

The Investigation

The Master of the lodge you submitted your petition to will assign three members of the lodge to interview you and investigate your background. The investigators may want to meet with you at home. There is a standard set of questions that all investigators must ask, but many will ask additional questions. Be honest with the investigators. No Mason is perfect…we aren’t and we don’t expect petitioners to be perfect, either.   Masonry requires than a  candidate  be of good character and a criminal background check will be done only for felonies and crimes of moral turpitude.

The Ballot

Your investigators will be given a deadline by which to return their completed investigation reports to the lodge. Their reports along with their recommendation will be read to the lodge at a stated meeting. At this time, the Master of the lodge will usually call for a ballot to be taken on your petition. Eligible Masons will then vote on your petition and the outcome of the ballot will be announced to the lodge.

After the Ballot

Soon after the stated meeting, a member from the lodge should contact you with the outcome of the ballot and provide you with additional instructions.   If it was favorable, an appointment will be set for you to come to the lodge for instruction and to receive your first degree, that of Entered Apprentice.