FREEMASONRY: WHY JOIN CESTREFELD LODGE
Cestrefeld lodge has been chartered since 1919, and is due to celebrate its centenary year in 2019. This is a great moment in time for our lodge and if you are the right person and are interested, we are interested in sharing it with you.
If you are considering becoming a Freemason, Cestrefeld’s reputation as a friendly and welcoming lodge with a solid social scene is well established. Across freemasonry we are interested in the person, not the rank or position.
There are currently in excess of 200,000 Freemasons in membership of the United Grand Lodge of England, from all walks of life, all of whom believe in and support the three tenets of masonry, which are Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth. These reflect the excellent fraternity upon which the order is built, relief in our support to those in distress and within the community in which we live and truth as upright men who attempt to live their lives with integrity, kindness and fairness.
The journey from being accepted as a candidate, through Entered Apprentice and Fellow Craft to attaining the degree of Master Mason takes about two years. A special ceremony in celebration of that progression, occurs at each of the three stages.
Freemasonry has three composite parts: the ritual, which happens in the lodge itself, the festive board which occurs after the meeting and the social activity that occurs in the lodge building and at the regular social events, external to it.
•The first is designed to help make good men better through allegorical ritual, leading to our foundations of harmony and brotherhood.
•The second allows the brethren to celebrate that harmony after the meeting, in a friendly atmosphere with likeminded individuals over an enjoyable meal. This is partly formal and partly informal and is a staple of the Cestrefeld lodge meetings.
• Finally there are the social occasions out-with the lodge. These are continual throughout the year and act to cement and enhance that brotherhood through friendly interactions which often include wives and partners. The annual black tie ladies night of 2017 for instance had in excess of 200 masons, wives, partners and guests in attendance, with good food in a great venue and excellent entertainment.
Joining the Cestrefeld lodge therefore offers the right person, genuine long term friendship, support and a distinct feeling of belonging, which as a Freemason, travels with you wherever you may go. We believe in being integral in our community and the society in which we function and importantly support and help deserving causes in our local area.
However, membership requires some financial cost and commitment in return.
Cost: There is an annual membership fee, a dining fee for the festive board, cost of regalia and as one of the main tenets of our order is charity, charitable donations are more than happily and willingly received.
Time: Although there is a summer recess of 4 months, there is a minimum of 8 meetings a year, with more if you wish to take office. Visiting other lodges is also open to a member and encouraged. It is the old adage of you will get out, what you are happy to put in.
Accepting all this, if membership of our order and in fact the Cestrefeld Lodge in particular is something you feel is for you, please complete the form below and click “submit”