How to Become a Freemason in Rhode Island

Step 1: Find a Lodge in Rhode Island

Freemasonry does not recruit, so the first move is yours. Start with the Grand Lodge of Rhode Island: its Lodge locator lists the Lodges in the state with where and when they meet. It also publishes its own guidance for men interested in joining, which outranks anything on this page.

Pick a Lodge or two near you and email the Secretary to say you would like to learn more. Many Lodges hold dinners or open houses where you can meet the members first. Visit more than one if you can: Lodges differ a great deal in age, size and feel, and you will be sitting in that room for years.

Step 2: Ask for a petition

The Grand Lodge of Rhode Island publishes a minimum age of 18. Beyond age, the usual pattern in US Grand Lodges is that a candidate is a man, believes in a Supreme Being, is of good character, and comes of his own free will. The exact wording, the number of signatures needed and the fee are set in Rhode Island, not by a general guide.

The petition asks for your background and usually needs two members to sign it. If you do not know two Masons yet, visit a few times; that is what the visits are for.

Step 3: Investigation and ballot

The Lodge sends a small committee to meet you, often at home, to make sure you know what you are joining and that your family is on board with the time it takes. The Lodge then votes by secret ballot. How that ballot works, and what happens if it fails, is governed by the Grand Lodge of Rhode Island's own rules.

Step 4: The three degrees

Once elected you receive the degrees of Entered Apprentice, Fellowcraft and Master Mason, usually with something to learn between each. What counts as proficiency, and how long the whole thing takes, varies by jurisdiction; ask your mentor what Rhode Island requires. The Master Mason degree is full membership and the highest degree in Freemasonry.

The full walk-through is in How to Join a Masonic Lodge.

After you are raised

Once you are a Master Mason you may join the appendant bodies if you want to. The York Rite meets in Chapters, Councils and Commanderies across Rhode Island. For the Scottish Rite, Rhode Island is in the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, so its Valleys confer the NMJ versions of the degrees; material written for the other jurisdiction will not match. None of these bodies outranks the Lodge: 32° is not senior to 3°.

What to buy, and what not to

Nothing, before you petition. The Lodge provides an apron for the degrees, and many issue a plain white one to keep. Do not buy a Masonic ring before you are raised. It is the classic new-candidate mistake.