Wiliam’s blog
So many great things about Freemasonry
Wiliam.
It has been a long time since I have written an article on for this blog. I would like to apologise to the potential candidates that consulted the blog as guidance about Freemasonry from the point of view of a new Freemason.
During the past months I had the honour to get through the ritual of the second degree of Freemasonry. I can say that it was a very interesting ceremony, although I got to understand a lot more of it a month later when I witnessed someone else’s ceremony. I found out that not taking part in the ceremony and just sitting there and watching is much more meaningful. One gets to process and analyse the meaning of the ceremony at a much higher level when you are not part of it, but merely a spectator.
Another thing that gave me great pleasure was that I could get involved more in Freemasonry by helping with a presentation done at Lancaster University. It gave me great pleasure to be able to help organise the event. Also, I was invited to take part and comment on the few months I have been a Freemason and to share my experiences with other potential candidates from the university. Considering that all of them were interested in Freemasonry after the presentation, I hope that I had made some contribution to this myself, besides the massive contribution of the other Freemasons involved in the presentation.
Another great thing about Freemasonry is being able to propose a friend into the Craft and I am pleased that I got to do this recently as I had the honour to propose a good friend of mine for initiation.
I am very honoured that I could do this important step so early in my Masonic career and I am sure that a special bond will exist between me and my friend from now on. I believe that his Initiation, which is scheduled for May (just after my third degree ceremony) will be a very touching and special ceremony for both of us.
I hope that I will be able to be a part of that ceremony myself and maybe conduct a small part of it. In the meantime, I am looking forward to my third degree and to attending as many ceremonies as possible both at my lodge and at other lodges before returning to my country.
Wiliam Bognar
First regular step in Freemasonry
I have recently made the first step on a path that will last all my life ‘the initiation into Freemasonry’. It has been an exciting three months since I was informed that I would be initiated into the City of Lancaster Lodge No 281.
After a wait of a year and a half, which I can say now was completely worth it, although I started to get excited and anxious about two weeks before the actual ceremony, a moment when my exams were over and all I had left to do was to wait for the day of the ceremony. It actually proved to be a very special moment for me and I also hope that the members of the City of Lancaster Lodge and the guests felt the same. It was a moving ceremony for me, especially that the date was arranged especially for me and that I was the first to be initiated under the Lancaster University scheme for students. Moreover, the ceremony was attended by a number of senior Freemasons, which was a great honour for me.
Wiliam with the senior Freemasons at his initiation, including Tony Harrison, Assistant Provincial Grand Master, responsibe for the University's scheme.
I was welcomed into Freemasonry by Kyle Patterson, a young brother to whom I would like to thank for his effort to present me the Charge as Kyle was only initiated in April. I would also like to thank Trevor Horn (Lancaster Group Membership Officer) for the toast he prepared for me and the nice speech of Kai Hughes, Grand Orator and Worshipful Master of the University Lodge of Liverpool.
The ceremony itself was very interesting, although I have to admit that it seemed a bit confusing at the time! I got to discover what the signs and symbols were only when I got home and read the booklet I was given after the ceremony which explained the symbols and ritual.
It was touching to meet a member of the lodge that was a hundred years old, who had signed the same book of registration (around fifty years ago) that I signed.
After the ceremony, I came to realise that I was probably the only foreigner in the room, it made me very proud as I had managed to be initiated in the country and culture that I have chosen to continue my education and my interest in Freemasonry.
I am now even more excited to learn more about Freemasonry, to discover it in depth and to meet new people. It was a brilliant night for me, a night that I will remember for the rest of my life and it is my hope that it will only be a first step into a lifelong journey. For the time being, I find it a great honour to know that wherever I go from now on, I will go as a Freemason.
The long wait is nearly over
Wiliam Bognar is about to be initiated into City of Lancaster Lodge No.281 in the Lancaster and District Group. The lodge recently agreed to be part of the University Scheme and Wiliam is to be the first initiate under that initiative. Wiliam was born and raised in Romania and is studying at Lancaster University. Wiliam was asked to put pen to paper and even though he hasn’t yet joined, try and express the thoughts on the process thus far, good or bad and this is what is hoped will be the first of many of his blog entries…….
Wiliam Bognar.
My depiction of Freemasonry has been a general and broad one, as I have found in different sources such as books or on the Internet. Its ideals seemed to me vast and its role in human development significant. I wanted to find out more and I thought to contact a lodge directly, and so I got in touch with the membership officer in the Lancaster and District Group.
At first, I did not know what to think about Freemasonry as I come from a former communist country where Freemasonry was forbidden and illegal.
The meetings I had with the membership officer as well as my participation to two Masonic festive boards after the lodge, made me understand its underpinnings better and convinced me that I wanted to be part of Freemasonry.
Attending two Gentlemen to Dine events at other lodges, in Lancaster and Morecambe, offered me a perspective about its variety, having seen gentlemen of different backgrounds, ages and professions, brought together by the same ideals.
Although I contacted the membership officer back in 2009 expressing my desire to join, I had to wait a year and a half as I was not 21. It was exciting to find out more information about Freemasonry from existing members, but it was also disappointing that more couldn’t be said until my initiation which is to take place on 30 June when I will become a member of City of Lancaster Lodge . There isn’t long left to wait and I am trying to prepare myself for the long-awaited moment…
Wiliam Bognar
Please note: Although Wiliam waited until he was 21, partly as a result of the City of Lancaster Lodge only recently agreeing to be part of the University Scheme, prospective candidates can be initiated at a younger age, as early as 18, by special dispensation from the Provincial Grand Master.
