A man in
your family is now a member of the
Masonic Fraternity.
This will
undoubtedly raise some questions in your
mind, and we hope
the following
will be helpful in answering those
questions.
You are
now a Mason's Lady, and we take this
opportunity to
extend our first
greeting to you. While you personally
have not
joined our
organization, there are certain things
that may be
helpful for you
to know in the future. At the same time,
there are
matters of
general interest about you Mason and his
new
organization.
WHEN & WHERE DID IT BEGIN?
The
Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons
is the oldest,
largest and most
widely-known fraternal organization in
the world.
It has its roots
in antiquity, and is directly descended
from the
association of
"operative masons," the cathedral
builders of the
Middle Ages who
traveled through Europe employing the
secrets and
skills of their
crafts. The organization, as we know it
today,
began in 1717 in
England when cathedral building was on
the decline
and the
"operative masons" or "free masons," as
the known, started
to accept as
members those who were not members of
the masons'
craft, calling
them "speculative masons" or "accepted
masons".
Freemasonry was brought to the
United States by our early
settlers, and
Benjamin Franklin, in an early newspaper
published by
him, referred to
a Lodge of Freemasons being in existence
in
Philadelphia in
1730. We now have in Maine 200 Lodges
with a
membership
totaling over 36,000. Throughout the
world, there are
approximately 5
million Masons, with over 3 million of
them being
in the United
States as members of Lodges under the
jurisdiction of
50 Grand Lodges.
Masonry
is not, contrary to common belief, a
"secret
society," but
rather a "society with secrets." If it
were a secret
society, Masons
would not wear Masonic jewelry of
publicly mark
their many
Halls. Masonry does have many traditions
and customs
which, of
course, are known only to its members.
WHAT DOES FREEMASONRY MEAN TO A MEMBER?
It would
be difficult to summarize in a brief
space all
that a Mason
learns through his membership. But
briefly,
Freemasonry
encourages a member to apply to his
daily living the
broad, general
principles of morality. Membership is
limited to
adult manes who
can meet the recognized qualifications
and
standards of
character and reputation. Freemasonry
does not
interfere with
duties that a man owes to God, his
country, his
neighbor, his
family, or himself; but rather, by
learning to
understand, to
live o practice the fundamental precepts
of the
organization, he
has an opportunity for self-improvement.
It helps
a good man
become a better man, a better father,
husband, brother
or son.
THE APRON
During
the ceremonies of his initiation, each
Mason is
presented with a
white leather apron. It is, to him, an
emblem of
innocence and
the badge of a Mason. It has, in all
ages, been
cherished by the
rich, the poor, the high and the low. It
is his
for life. He
will never receive another one and has,
therefore,
been cautioned
to take it home and instructed in its
care. While
perfectly
satisfactory for him to do so if he
desires, he need not
bring it to
Lodge, as linen aprons are provided for
his use
meetings.
It is to
be placed upon his at his death if his
nearest
living relative
so chooses. Its moral application is
explained to a
Mason during its
presentation. Its physical usage is now
revealed
to you.
MASONIC FUNERAL
Any
member who was in good standing at the
time of his
death is
entitled to a Masonic funeral if he or
his family requests
it. Such a
request should be made to the Master of
his Lodge who
will make the
necessary arrangements with the family,
the mortuary,
and the
minister.
A
service is authorized by the
jurisdiction in which you
are located, and
consists of participation at the
mortuary, the
beginning at the
mortuary and the closing at the
graveside, or
graveside only.
Pallbearers will be furnished at the
request of the
family.
In
general, the Lodge will do as much or as
little as the
nearest relative
wishes it to do.
LET US KNOW
Contacting the Lodge is not a difficult
matter. The Lodge
Secretary's name
appears on all dues cards. If you are
unable to
contact the
Secretary when needed, a call or letter
to the Grand
Secretary, John
E. Anagnostis, Masonic Temple, 415
Congress Street,
Portland, Maine
04010, will provide the information.
ILLNESS
In the
event our member becomes ill, we want to
know.
Again, the same
method of notifying us can be used as
explained
above. In the
past, members have fallen ill without
our knowing it
and their loved
ones have been displeased with us for a
seeming act
of disregard,
then in fact we have been unaware of the
problem.
Your Mason has
joined an organization who wants to
assist him when
in need, and we
need your help to do it.
MEETINGS
lodges
meet in regular monthly sessions and on
such other
days as are
necessary to conduct its business and
ritualistic work.
While every
Mason's attendance is solicited, it is
not intended
that a Lodge
should interfere with one's regular
vocation or duty
to family, God
or country.
Your
Mason has invested time and money in
joining our order
and for years to
come will be paying annual dues. He can
best
receive all that
is his by frequently participating in
deliberations
and events. We hope that you will
approve and
encourage him to
attend regularly, and we hope that you,
will join
us whenever
possible.
TITLE
In the
years to come, it is reasonable to
assume that at
some time while
you are accompanying your Mason, someone
will
address him as
"Brother." Brother is neither a
sentimental nor
familiar form of
address, but is a title, a distinction
and an
honor,
indicating that he has been recognized
by another Mason.
Brother
is a title dating back to ancient times
and is used
in place of
Mister or a similar title to which one
is entitled by
virtue of his
station in life. In Masonry, all men are
equal, as no
man is regarded
for his worldly wealth or honor, and all
distinctions are
cast away.
ARE THERE MASONIC-ORIENTED ORGANIZATIONS
WHICH MEMBERS OF THE
FAMILY MAY JOIN?
There
are several groups to which ladies
related to Master
Masons may apply
for membership if they desire. But this
is
entirely
optional. If there are children in the
family, they may
find interests
in Masonic-oriented youth groups whose
teachings of
patriotism and
love of family will, we are sure, be
pleasing to
you.
MASONIC ASSISTANCE
Across
the nation is a network of Masonic
Service
Association
Officers. If, while traveling, dire need
of aid should
arise, consult
the telephone directory of a major city
for the
number. If none
is listed, a local Lodge will be able to
make
connections for
you.
BLOOD BANK
The
Grand Lodge has established a blood bank
and you and
your Mason are
protected, should the need arise. You
are both
encouraged to
support this program whenever possible.
The gift of
blood is called
the gift of life.
CONCLUSION
We hope
you have found this information helpful,
and that
it will assist
you in better understanding your Mason's
role in
life. We urge
you to save it as a reference whenever
questions
arise.
