WHAT WOULD JOINING THE LODGE OF ST MARK MEAN FOR YOU?
– Access to an enjoyable and rewarding pastime, offering the opportunity to develop towards self-fulfilment and contribute to building a better society
– An opportunity to gain many like-minded, trusted and lasting friends from within the Lodge, within other Lodges, around the County, across the Country and throughout the World
– An opportunity to contribute towards many charitable causes, care for your fellows and your families and help those in need across all of society
– Membership of an organisation based upon established historic traditions, although with an eye upon today and the future, and that helps to bring stability, structure, harmony and consistency to your life
– A Lodge that provides mentoring and guidance for its Members and seeks to provide opportunities for all to contribute
– A Lodge where social events are arranged, bringing the opportunity to socialise and have fun, involving you, your family and your friends
– A friendly and welcoming Lodge with a broad based Membership
UNDERSTANDING FREEMASONRY
When considering whether you would like to join Freemasonry, please take a moment to look through the other pages of this website. These offer guidance and information relating to Freemasonry, Charity, Lodge Meetings and News and Events and will help you to gain an understanding of Freemasonry in general, its history, its principles and practices, its charitable activities, activities at Lodges and other important facts. These pages will also take you to useful links to other websites to obtain further help and guidance. If you would prefer to go directly to a comprehensive list of links click here
ELIGIBILITY TO JOIN
Freemasonry is a multi-faith, multi-cultural, multi-racial organisation. It is open to all men who are over 21, law abiding, of good character and who believe in a Supreme Being. We will only accept men who fulfil all of these essential requirements.
For university students, certain special arrangements can be made at a younger age.
If you remain in any doubt as regards your eligibility, if you know a Freemason please talk to them for guidance or you are welcome to get in touch for help using the contact routes stated below to the Lodge of St Mark or the Masonic Province of East Kent.
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO BE A FREEMASON?
There is an initiation fee when you join and each Lodge charges an annual subscription to cover its running costs. The annual subscription at the Lodge of St Mark is £109.00, with a reduced subscription of £99.00 for ‘Country Members’, being those who do not live locally to the Lodge and whose ability to attend Meetings is therefore limited.
Each Regular Meeting is normally followed by a dinner, with the cost depending on the venue. At the Lodge of St Mark, typically dining would cost £20.00. However, there is no requirement to attend the dinner if you are unable to.
You will also be expected to wear a dark suit, white shirt, black shoes and black, or other suitable, tie and in due course you will need to buy your own regalia.
Members are invited to donate to charity, but this should always be within your means and it is entirely up to you how much you wish to contribute. Members will also be invited to participate in raffles and other fund raising activities, where the same comments apply in terms of personal spending.
Costs can vary considerably from Lodge to Lodge, particularly for the dining, and your Proposer and Seconder should make them clear to you before you join.
JOINING THROUGH A KNOWN MEMBER
If you would like to become a Freemason or want to know more about joining and you know a friend, colleague or family member who already is one, then you can approach them to speak about it first. They will be able to help you to understand more about Freemasonry and, if you would like to join, they will be able to explain the process of joining.
If the person you have spoken to is a Member of the Lodge of St Mark and it is this Lodge that you would like to join, then that Member will be able to progress matters with the Lodge.
If the person is a Member of another Lodge or is perhaps resident away from the area where you would like to join, then they will normally still be able to guide you towards where you can secure help.
JOINING THROUGH OTHER CONTACT
If, however, you do not know anyone who is a Freemason or do not know anyone who is a Freemason in the locality where you are thinking about joining, or if you would simply prefer to directly approach a Lodge, the Masonic Province of East Kent or The United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE), then you can either:
– Get in touch with the Lodge of St Mark through using the Contact page of this website and we will be pleased to see how we can help, or
– Contact the Masonic Province of East Kent using the ‘Just Ask One’ portal on their website – click here . Please refer to the Links section under the Contact page of this website for further details of this portal, or
– Contact The United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) through their website, so that they can direct your enquiry appropriately – click here
Lodge of St Mark 