Post by Tamrin on Jul 5, 2008 19:18:06 GMT 10
Pilgrims lodge is looking at opening up to a wider, international membership base, and I feel the concept may well suit isolated Brethren. Please note that degrees would still be conferred in duly formed lodges. I removed the contact details but will supply by PM, for those interested.
What is the Pilgrims Lodge?
The Pilgrims Lodge is a nonlocal Lodge of the Eastern Order of International Co-Freemasonry intended for members of the Order in North America who do not live close enough to one of the local Lodges to participate regularly in its Masonic Communications.
Those who are new to Freemasonry or who have not yet been raised to the Degree of Master Mason may apply to join the Pilgrims Lodge as corresponding members. Persons who are accepted but are not already Freemasons will come to a full Masonic Lodge---in either Wheaton, Illinois (a suburb of Chicago), or Atlanta, Georgia---for initiation, usually on a Saturday. Those Lodges were founded in 1928 and 1943 respectively and have operated continuously since their foundations. Members of Pilgrims Lodge receive monthly messages and papers concerning Freemasonry (its practices, purposes, ideals, history, symbols, etc.) and have a Preceptor to correspond with about those papers. They will be expected to devote time (preferably weekly, but at their own convenience) to study of the papers, to meditation on them, and to a short individual ritual based on the full Ritual done in Masonic Lodges. Advancement to the higher Degrees of Fellowcraft and Master Mason depends on the individual’s response to the study papers and requires attendance at communications of a full Masonic Lodge for each advancement ceremony. Advancement to the Degree of Master Mason normally takes at least a year, but will vary according to the readiness of the person.
Brethren who are already Masons in a recognized jurisdiction (such as an AFAAM Grand Lodge or various other bodies that observe the Landmarks of Masonry) may apply for affiliation and, when accepted, will be admitted in their highest Masonic Degree (and with their appropriate Scottish Rite and York Rite status). Master Masons receive the same monthly messages and papers as other members of the Pilgrims Lodge, but have no obligation to respond to them, though responses are always welcomed.
The one-time initiation fee for someone not yet a Freemason is $60.00; the one-time affiliation fee for someone already a Freemason is $10.00. Annual dues for Pilgrims Lodge are $30.00. Dues include a subscription to the Order’s magazine, The Morning Star, which forms part of the Lodge’s study program.
Pilgrims Lodge has members from Massachusetts to California, from Washington State to Florida, and from Quebec to Texas. The Brethren of Pilgrims Lodge are seeds around whom we hope eventually to form Triangles of three or more members each for shared study and mutual support, from which in turn a full Lodge can develop. One aim is to establish first Triangles and then Lodges in various locations around North America.
Information about the Eastern Order of International Co-Freemasonry is available on our Web site (http://comasonic.net). Specific questions about the Order or the Pilgrims Lodge may be sent by e-mail to **** or by postal mail to ****.
The Eastern Order is an international body some of whose Lodges are now more than a hundred years old. It is most numerous in India, New Zealand, and Brazil, but also has national administrations or Lodges in Argentina, Costa Rica, France, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Spain, and North America. It works traditional Masonic rites, but has as its special characteristics both a conviction that Masonry is a spiritual path in the tradition of the Ancient Mysteries, harmonious with various religious traditions, not limited to any one, and also a dedication to the equality of men and women in all aspects of life, including Freemasonry.
