Brothers,
I am posting this in both Masonic Firefighter groups – Freemason Firefighters and Firefighters/F&AM – I am a relatively young Master Mason having been raised to the Sublime Degree in 2003, I have been a proud Call Firefighter since 2006. I enjoy both brotherhoods very much and I wish I had found both much earlier in my life. My life is very busy. Full time job, five kids, all under 14 years old and a wife who supports me to the end. No complaints there.

This is my dilemma/question – I have felt in my Lodge stress between the old guard and the new guys. The older members have done so much and been the life of the Lodge for a long time and I thank them very much. Masonry has been pushing to up their membership for the past few years and that is when I joined. So I have been feeling uncomfortable going, not feeling as welcome and feeling a bit out of place. My fire dept. drill night is Tuesdays, the same night as Lodge. This has given me an easy excuse not to go to Lodge. I still pay my dues and try to stay active in Lodge special functions. I know that I will be a Mason for the rest of my life and only have a limited number of years left in the fire service – I’m 47. So my plan has been to stay connected to my Lodge through Brothers on the outside, do firefighting for as long as I can and then go back to regular Lodge activities.

Sorry if this has been a bit confusing. I’m confused by the whole thing. Any thoughts?

Thanks Brother.