My name is Steve Hamlin and I am the Worshipful Master of this Lodge for the current year.
If this is the first time you have visited the Lodge and are looking to see if Freemasonry is for you, I would like to give you some answers to the questions you may be thinking. I have been a Freemason for over 30 years and was originally attracted by comments from friends and acquaintances about the good friendships they had made with other masons and the good causes they were able to help. I have really enjoyed my journey in the craft, meeting some wonderful people and having some amazing experiences
The people I meet are always friendly, welcoming and all have that underlying wish to be of service to the community.
We generally tend to socialise not only at The Festive Board which is a dinner together after each of the 5 meetings we have in the year, but also with our partners and wives.
We all believe in Charity by raising funds for local, regional and national good causes. Collectively Freemasonry raises countless millions of pounds a year.You may ask why we wear stylised formal dress when we are in our meetings. This is traditional, as Freemasonry is a very old organisation. Conformity of what we wear and the ceremonies we conduct are very important in, not only keeping the traditions alive, but to enable any Freemason to visit any Lodge any where in the world and be welcomed as a trusted friend.
The Rituals we perform are basically the same all over the world. We have to try to learn our parts, as best we can which means we have to discipline ourselves. We have to speak and enact in front of our peers and colleagues. From this we build up our own confidence and ability to express ourselves to others and be more comfortable in ourselves,
There are various steps one has to climb to become a fully fledged Master Mason which normally takes years to attain the knowledge but it is structured and there is always help from those around you.
You can attain whatever level you would like in Freemasonry. There are no barriers, there are no targets. You can move at whatever pace you feel comfortable.
In all, I feel very comfortable when I am with my fellow masons as I know they are good men with the same basic values in life that I have.