CHAPTER 52
Members of a Lodge
The members of a subordinate
lodge, so long as they retain their membership therein, are as follows:
1. Those who were
members of the lodge at the time its dispensation warrant, or charter was
issued,
2. Those later
admitted by affiliation, [39-11]
3. Those duly
elected in, and receiving the degrees in, that lodge or in some other lodge as
a courtesy for the lodge electing them, and
4. Those who may
acquire membership therein by a consolidation with another lodge. [Chapter 56].
The charter members of a
lodge are those who were members on the date the charter was granted.
REG. 52-3
DUTIES OF A FREEMASON.
The duties of a Freemason
are as follows:
2. To obey the
laws and edicts of the Grand Lodge,
3. To be neither
an atheist nor a skeptic,
5. To live in
peace and to practice charity,
6. To be a member
of a regular lodge,
7. To perform
faithfully the duties as such member, or as an officer,
8. To pay his
dues thereto promptly,
10. To notify the
Secretary of his lodge immediately of any change in his mailing address,
11. To pay due
respect and obedience to the various Grand Lodge officers and lodge officers
according to their respective rank and station,
12. To obey the
by-laws of his lodge, and to attend its communications,
13. To observe
those lessons and duties inculcated in the several lectures and charges of the
three Symbolic degrees of Freemasonry, and
14. To keep and
perform the several obligations of those degrees. [77-16].
Belief in the existence of
God is a fundamental tenet in Freemasonry. If subsequent to initiation a member's
mind, for any cause, has undergone a change of religious belief to the extent
of repudiating or renouncing faith in God, he ought to be expelled. Denying the
main essential to a genuine Masonic life, he should be denied Masonic
privileges. [66-1.1; 67-8; 86-2.2; Preamble
I].
A member of a lodge in
another Grand Jurisdiction, which does not forbid plural membership, may
affiliate with a lodge in
REG. 52-6
MODE OF MAKING MASONS.
The Grand Lodge does not
recognize any other mode of making Masons than the one sanctioned by the
immemorial usages of the Craft, namely, in a regular lodge and after previous
notice and due inquiry into character. [13-4.3].
REG. 52-7
MEMBERS NO PROPERTY INTEREST.
No member of a lodge shall
have any individual right, title, interest, or claim in or to any part of the
assets, funds, or property of any kind belonging to his lodge. Assets and
property are for the sole purpose of promoting the objects of Masonry and
therefore they are to be used for Masonic purposes only. The lodge may vote its
funds to relieve the distress of a member as Masonic charity dictates and it
should promptly do so, or to pay for services rendered or for value received by
the lodge from a member, but there is no vested interest, or any claim, demand,
or right that any member can make upon the assets and property of his lodge
solely by virtue of his membership therein. [4-7; 43-2.15; Preamble
III (2)].
REG. 52-8
BROTHER WHO CHANGED HIS NAME.
A brother who has changed
his name by civil law shall promptly file with the Secretary of his lodge documentary
evidence showing that his name has been changed. Such documentary evidence
shall be a certified copy of the order or judgment changing his name, under the
seal of the court, or civil agency, that issued the same. The Secretary shall
record on the minutes of the first stated communication after its receipt and
revise the lodge record. The Secretary shall immediately forward such document
to the Grand Secretary for the record in his office.