Too many new Freemasons become puzzled and lost in their first two or three years of membership and as a result drift away from Freemasonry.

The purpose of the Mentoring Programme is to ensure that every new member enjoys being a Freemason, understands what it is about and becomes involved in his Lodge - its ritual working and other activities.

Lodges which accomplish this have enthusiastic and committed members who are not only an asset to their Lodge and Freemasonry in general, but also keen to encourage their friends to join as well.

One person alone cannot achieve this objective. The Lodge as a whole must welcome, involve, and value its new members. We are receiving them into our Order and their attitude and reaction to us and to Masonry in general will depend on how we treat them.

It is therefore the responsibility of every Lodge to look after its members and give them all the information they need at each stage of their Masonic development. Whilst Lodges may adopt differing procedures for doing this, the Mentoring Scheme recommends the appointment of a senior and experienced Brother as Mentor to each new member. Each Candidate needs a Mentor to whom he can relate and who is readily available at any time to answer questions. The Mentoring Co-ordinator of the Lodge acts as Team Leader.  He selects two or three Brethren of experience and knowledge to act as individual Mentors for newly initiated Brethren. It is important that these Mentors have (or establish) good relations and close communication with the Brethren they are mentoring.

The scheme suggests a series of meetings, though these can be very informal, and covers the period from a man first identifying himself as a potential candidate to when he is Masonically mature.

Mentoring is not new.  We have always done it, but not on an organised and systematic basis.  The prime responsibility for Mentoring a young Mason has always rested with his Proposer and Seconder.  It still does.  However, sometimes they are not able to do the job well, so back-up is essential.

The Lodge Mentoring co-ordinator makes sure Mentoring is done well, identifies suitable people to fill any gaps and makes sure the resources needed are available.

The pressures of modern life mean time for personal reading and research are at a premium so 'spoon feeding' is sometimes necessary.

Most people find checklists helpful and the series of booklets associated with the Mentoring Programme provide these and list other sources of information.

We all know Freemasonry is more open these days but we still worry about just how much we should tell people who are not yet Masons.  How much do we tell a Mason at each stage of his development? These booklets give guidance on this problem.

The Series of Provincial Masonic Mentoring and Education booklets are

• Introduction and Guidance Notes (downloadable)
• The Entered Apprentice (available from Provincial Office)
• The Fellow Craft (available from Provincial Office)
• The Master Mason (available from Provincial Office)

For more information please

• Contact WBro Reg Hirst, Provincial Education and Training Officer
• explore discussion on this topic in the Provincial Information, Learning and Discussion Forum