We are the Petts Wood Lodge No. 5435 in the Province of West Kent and under the jurisdiction of the United Grand Lodge of England. We were consecrated in 1934 in Bromley as a Saturday Lodge, we meet four times a year in the afternoons of the 2nd Saturday in January. March and November and the third Saturday in May.
According to Wikipedia “Freemasonry or Masonry consists of fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local fraternities of stonemasons that from the end of the fourteenth century regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities and clients. The degrees of Freemasonry retain the three grades of medieval craft guilds, those of Apprentice, Journeyman or fellow (now called Fellowcraft), and Master Mason.
The candidate of these three degrees is progressively taught the meanings of the symbols of Freemasonry and entrusted with grips, signs and words to signify to other members that he has been so initiated. The degrees are part allegorical morality play and part lecture. Three degrees are offered by Craft (or Blue Lodge) Freemasonry, and members of any of these degrees are known as Freemasons or Masons.”
Our Installation meeting, where we install the next Worshipful Master, elected by the members, for the forthcoming year is in January. The other meetings are normally occupied with various ceremonies or lectures of interest to the members where we do not have any candidates progressing through the Lodge.
Meetings generally consist of a formal opening and attending to administration items such as minutes, propositions and voting for things such as charitable giving, formalising our accounts and so on. If a candidate is progressing we will undertake a ceremony where the Officers of the Lodge perform various roles in instructing a candidate so he can progress on his journey through the Lodge. As you progress in Freemasonry so you learn more about its traditions and rich history.
In addition to the Lodge meeting 4 times a year, we meet once a week on a Monday at Oakley House in Bromley for what we call our Lodge of Instruction. This is where we really get to meet each other and where we practice the various allegorical ceremonies, learning the words and the choreography in each to the best of our ability. We meet weekly between September and May and this helps to demonstrate our ceremonies to a high standard so that the candidates appreciate the effort we have taken and the messages that the ceremonies convey.
There are other meetings we have too. We try and have a couple of social meetings per year, like a curry night or a breakfast meeting. We take part in a Spring Fair and run a burger BBQ stall in May and we run an annual Easter Egg Hunt, open to all at our local RMBI home in Chislehurst. This brings much-needed interaction between the young people attending and the residents in the home.
Other social events are always available in Freemasonry, there are often dinner dances at Oakley House, the New Year’s Eve celebrations are always great fun and good value. There are Provincial Activities too including Quiz nights. A yearly Pantomime at Sevenoaks Stag Theatre and a Film show with proceeds going to charity. Many of these are not just for Freemasons only, we invite members to bring their partners, family and friends.
Like what you’ve read and think you’ve got what it takes to be a Freemason or interested in joining? Drop us a line at secretary@pettswoodlodge.org.uk