May 6, 2009 - INVESTIGATIONS

As is customary for me, I spent Wednesday night at the Lodge doing paperwork. However, this time it was a little different as we were visited by three men interested in joining our Lodge, one to pickup a petition, and two others for an investigation.

The first one was a young man (23) you was recently married and works for a large financial planning company with offices in our area. His grandfather had been a Mason, but not his father. He had also been in a Greek fraternity in college and understood the concept of brotherhood (although I told him Masonry was somewhat different than the college fraternities).

The other two gentlemen came to the Lodge as part of our investigation process. Both had relatives with Masonic ties, but we also talked at length about a fraternity was (and wasn't). We stressed that the Blue Lodge (aka Craft Lodge) was the keystone in the fraternity and that although there were other Masonic bodies (Shrine, York Rite, Scottish Rite, Grotto, etc.), it is the Blue Lodge that is the bedrock.

For all three men, they were very much interested in learning about the history of the fraternity, our community involvement, but more importantly, they were looking for a refuge from the helter-skelter of the real world. The Masonic tenants of "Friendship, Morality, and Brotherly Love" was very important to them, which I found very refreshing. People join the Masons for a variety of reasons: to move on to the Shrine, to establish business contacts, for political maneuvering, etc.; these are all the wrong reasons. This is why I found their rationale for joining very refreshing and I'm sure they will fit in nicely with the Brethren in our Lodge. I also find this is becoming typical of the young men joining the fraternity.

Some Lodges do a superficial job investigating candidates for the fraternity, but I consider the Masonic investigation process very important. Normally it should be conducted at the candidate's home so that you can examine his home life and how supportive his family will be. I also encourage investigators to check references as much as possible. If you do not do an adequate job of investigating the candidate early on, you will only be faced with problems later on.

Until next time.

All the Best,
Tim Bryce, PM, MPS, MMBBFMN
timb001@phmainstreet.com
Dunedin Lodge No. 192 F.& A.M.
http:/www.dunedin192.org/
Dunedin, FL, USA
"For the Good of the Order"