How To Join
Hay Market Lodge is chartered by the Grand Lodge of Virginia (The Grand Lodge of Ancient, Free & Accepted Masons of Virginia). The Grand Lodge of Virginia was constituted October 30, 1778 and has enjoyed the company of many famous men throughout its history, perhaps most notably, George Washington.
There are various requirements for membership, but the basics include being a man of 18 years of age or older, believing in a God, and being a man of good character. You will need two Masons to vouch for you and sign your petition. More details and a petition can be found at the Grand Lodge of Virginia website.
A man joins the Masons through a Lodge. There are a couple hundred Lodges in Virginia organized into 57 Masonic Districts. While all Lodges follow the practice under the Grand Lodge of Virginia, each individual Lodge does have its own local flavor. If you decide that you are interested in learning more about Freemasonry and possibly even joining, the best thing to do is visit a Lodge or two. Most all Lodges have periods when they are open to the public and many even have specified open dinners held before the meetings. Coming to a dinner and meeting and speaking with the brothers in one or two Lodges near you will allow you to make an informed decision about whether Freemasonry is for you, and if so, which Lodge you may want to be a part of. A list of Lodges in Virginia can be found on the Grand Lodge website here.
Once a candidate’s petition is voted on and accepted, the degree process begins. With assistance from one or more brothers in the Lodge, the candidate moves through three different degree periods and is opened to more and more knowledge of Freemasonry. Some amount of effort in memorization of actions and speeches is a part of this process, but this aspect should not dissuade anyone. There are currently over 42,000 Virginia Masons and if they were all able to proudly advance through the degrees, you can too.
If you would like to come and learn more about Hay Market Lodge, please join us for one of our no-risk, no-obligation monthly dinners at the Lodge every 2nd Monday of the month from 6:30-7:30 pm. The address and a map to our Lodge can be found on our About/Contact webpage. We can answer many more questions in person than can ever be typed out here.
