Becoming a Mason
Congratulations!
You’ve already completed step one: showing interest.
Step two is reaching out to us here at Ionic No. 101 and we’ll take it from there. But before you do, there are some things you should know.
The Requirements
You must be a man eighteen years or older
You must believe in a higher power
We perform a background check, some small offences are ok but nothing major
You must love America
You must be of strong moral character
If you feel like you meet those requirements, read on and we’ll tell you about the process.
The Process
You Ask
If you’re interested in Freemasonry all you have to do is ask and we’ll give you a petition along with a form for the background check.
You Apply
Return the petition with $15 for the background check. This is the non-refundable cost of the background check. There is an additional $100 for the initiation. This is refunded if your petition is not accepted. We’ll also conduct an in person interview that same day.
We Vote
Based on what you wrote on the petition and our initial interview we’ll vote at our next meeting to accept your petition.
We Investigate
Three Masons from our Lodge will come to your home to interview you, either as a group or individually. They will report their impressions of you to the Lodge.
Final Vote
30 days after the investigation we’ll do a final vote to accept and initiate you. You’ll be notified immediately which way the vote went. If the vote is favorable then you’re ready to be initiated!
What’s Next?
If the vote was favorable this is what you can expect. We have three levels of initiation called degrees. Entered Apprentice (EA), Fellow Craft (FC), and Master Mason. Here’s how it will work:
We’ll coordinate a time for your initiation (EA Degree).
After the EA degree you’ll get to learn and memorize something called a catechism. You’ll meet with our mentor at the Lodge once or twice a week to help you along the way.
Once you’ve stood proficient with the catechism we’ll schedule your FC Degree.
Afterwards, you’ll meet with the mentor again for another catechism.
Once you’ve demonstrated your FC catechism we’ll schedule your Master Mason Degree.
There will be a third and final catechism just as the two before.
Life of a Master Mason
This is entirely up to you.
You can choose to participate as much or as little as you want. We’ll never ask you to miss work or skip a family event. Our meetings here at Ionic No. 101 are twice a month. But here in Jacksonville there’s a lot of Lodges and no shortage of things to do. You’ll have the opportunity to meet lots of people and make plenty of friends. Not to mention the benefits of the knowledge we pass along.
A fellow Master Mason isn’t a stranger, just a friend you’ve yet to meet.