(mysterious music)
- My father was a Freemason.
My grandfather was so I asked to join and they
they were delighted and
I had to have an informal interview.
Got asked a few questions and then the date was set
for when I joined.
I had my joining ceremony and then the rest is history.
That was 20 years ago now but I still remember it
like it was yesterday.
- My interest in Freemasonry was very much sparked
at an early age.
I remember seeing my father and grandfather going off to
meetings and very much enjoying their Freemasonry.
I've become very much attracted to the history and
mysticism surrounding Freemasonry.
At the same time I was very much, heavily involved
with scouting before going to university and Freemasonry
for me very much followed on from that.
- So I joined masonry for a few reasons.
The main one being to extend my circle of friends.
Secondly because I had an inquisitive mind, I wanted
to know a bit more about the history of Freemasonry.
I was asked to join by a good friend of mine.
My next door neighbour and at the time he asked me
to put a letter into the lodge that I was interested
in joining and what I could offer the lodge as a man
and the things I could bring so once that was approved
that letter I went in for a short interview
met some of the guys and I was happily approved
which was great.
- When I joined Freemasonry I thought I was just
joining a single lodge.
But actually I've joined a much larger community.
I've made very good lifelong friends from a number of
different lodges.
We now have a young masons club called the Essex Cornerstone
Club which provides an opportunity for like-minded
individuals to come together and take part in social
and charitable activities throughout the year.
- So in Freemasonry we sometimes have to stand up and
do some talking and the good thing about that is that
I can take that back to my work environment as
a transferable skill so being able to have that confidence
and stand up and talk to people almost with authority
gives me a good standing at work.
- First of all it's enabled me to meet people from various
backgrounds that I don't think I would've had the
opportunity of meeting before.
I travel for work quite a lot so whether that's local
or international I've got a great connection across
the world.
Secondly it's given me great life skills.
In our lodge meetings we stand up and we present and we
talk and that's great.
We do the same at work so it gives me confidence at work.
Then I think the other thing is coming to our meetings is
a good space away from the busyness of life and work
in general.
- My initiation was actually very exciting.
Although initially it appeared quite daunting.
The actual ceremony itself was very personal and comforting
and something I will remember and treasure forever.
- I was in a room with lots of people that I knew.
Lots of people that I didn't know.
It was a warm friendly environment.
It was a fantastic story.
It really was which continues throughout your masonic
journey and then after the meeting we had a lovely meal
and a few drinks and that's what it's all about.
- My initiation ceremony is quite special and it's special
to every Freemason that joins.
What I was blown away by was the amount of work that went
in for that ceremony by lots of people that I've never
met before and people that came up to you afterwards.
You almost feel like a superstar afterwards because
everyone is there for you and for your initiation and you'll
automatically have these great friends around you and
friends for life.
- The ceremonies are things which take us back to our roots
of medieval stonemasons but also bring in some aspects of
learning and personal development.
There's three ceremonies that we do quite often.
The first is the ceremony of initiation.
That brings a candidate into Freemasonry and it really
allows that candidate to reflect on who they are on the
fact that when everybody comes into this world they come
in as equals
and as life progresses sometimes people do better than other
people and it teaches us that we need to be mindful of
that and see what we can personally do to help out those
people who are less well off than us.
The second ceremony or the second degree that teaches us
to better ourselves to reflect on who we are.
How we fit into the world.
How we can make ourselves better people through education.
Then the final ceremony the third degree that teaches
us that perhaps we only have so long on this world that
we're all mortal and that we really need to make the most
of our time here.
(Mysterious music)