WHAT IS IN IT FOR ME AND HOW MUCH WILL IT COST?

The main objectives and principles of Freemasonry have already been mentioned elsewhere on this Website and, hopefully, this will help you to decide on whether membership is of interest to you.

However, in more general terms, membership opens up the opportunity to make new friends and acquaintances that are like-minded and wish to be members of a law-abiding and caring Community. Upon joining, you will be initiated into what is known as your ‘Mother Lodge’ and this will then widen to enable you to visit other Lodges falling under the remit of the United Grand Lodge of England thus providing the opportunity to network with others outside your immediate Masonic community.

Whilst it is widely considered that Freemasonry is so costly to be a member of that it is only available to those of a particular class, this is not true and its members come from all walks of life. When joining, there is an Initiation (one-off) payment that has to be made plus that part of the yearly Lodge subscription outstanding. After that, you will be required to pay the full annual Lodge subscription that varies within different Lodges but the average amount is around £175.

Lodges hold four to five Meetings per year and, upon the completion of Lodge business, the Brethren retire for their meal which is referred to as the ‘Festive Board.’ Attendance at this meal is not compulsory although it is desirable to do so and has to be paid for either on or before the date of the Meeting concerned.

In terms of donations to Charity, a collection is held at the conclusion of each Lodge Meeting and a raffle is usually held during the Festive Board.

Hence, the finances associated with being a Freemason are reasonably affordable to all and not as bad as some people may have you believe.