Joining the Shrine

by Midnight Freemason Guest Contributor

Michael Hambrecht

Any who know me, know that I wasn't really interested in bodies like the Shrine, Grotto, Tall Cedars of Lebanon, or even the High Twelve Clubs. It’s not that I had anything against these other Masonic bodies, it’s that I wanted to spend my time working in the York Rite bodies and some in the Scottish Rite first. That part hasn’t changed. What has happened is a different story.

I became a Master Mason back in April 2016. Sometime after that my Mom started asking me if I was ever going to be a Shriner. I remember telling her, “I don’t have any desire to be a clown or drive around in little cars, so probably not. But maybe someday.” She said, “ok”, but she never stopped asking. She even began to tell me why she wanted me to join, because of their Children’s Hospitals. My response was, “Yes they do that but I can just donate to that. I don’t have to join.” Finally in late 2017, she said, “If you join, I’ll pay your dues for it as long as I live.” I said, “Okay, if it’s that important to you. Let me think about it but I think I will. For you.”

Well, as usually happens life and other things got in the way of doing anything about it. In February 2018, my Father, a new Mason, her husband of 53 years passed away. This was pretty devastating to the whole family and had a profound effect on us. I now had other things, including my Freemasonry to think about and work on. As with all things like the loss of a spouse, it had an extra profound effect on my Mom. She actually never let it show. So I had no idea how much until she passed in December 2018, only a mere 10 months almost to the day that my Dad did. To say this shattered me would be an understatement, but I have persevered with the help of my Brothers.

Now when she passed, it turned out that she and my Dad left my sister and I some money. Enough to make some long term decisions. One that still took me some time to make-- Should I join the Shrine? I spent quite a bit of time going back and forth about it. I still really hadn’t decided on her offer. I spoke to quite a few Brothers about this. Some Shriners and others not.

I had decided that I would do it one day soon, maybe next year. A Brother of mine told me that they were planning a ceremonial, the initiation, on June 8th (last passed), if I was really interested. I immediately asked for a petition, for two reasons, 1st my birthday is June 7 and 2nd, June 9th was my Mom’s Birthday. It seemed like a sign. As soon as I turned in the petition, I began to get excited for it. After I was informed that my petition had been voted on and accepted, I was really excited. Not just because I was joining something new but because I was doing this for Mom.

On June 8th, I went through the ceremonial and got my Fez. I owe this to my Mom for giving me a reason to consider joining this, but honestly, I am now a member not just for her but for all of the Children we help every year at the Shriner’s Hospitals. I listened to many stories about what's been done and what Brothers do every day for these children and their families. I have finally learned a little more about the charitable side of Freemasonry. I can’t explain the feeling but I want you to know it’s not the financial side of charity I am talking about. It is the dressing as clowns to make children smile. It is driving little cars, motorcycles or trucks to let people see us. It is talking to a burn victim’s family and offering them hope. It is talking to the family of a child with bone issues or the child with cleft lip and or pallet issues and offering them hope. I realize I am mentioning hope but the charity of caring enough to speak with these families, caring enough to volunteer to get them to and from the hospitals and caring enough to do this, without asking anything from those families, just so they can hope and their child can be healed. I am glad I did this but I am sorry I didn’t do it when my Mom was alive to see me do it. She knew how right this was to do.

~MH

Bro. Mike Hambrecht was raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason on April 20, 2016 in Village Lodge #274 F & AM in Burton, Ohio. Currently he is a member of Triandria Lodge #780, where he is Junior Deacon and Lodge Education Officer, and a member Lake Shore Lodge #307. He is also a member Willoughby Royal Arch Chapter #231, where he is Scribe, Ohio Royal Arch Chapter of Research, where he is Secretary, Windermere Council of Royal & Select Masters #113, Eagle Commandery #29, where he is Standard Bearer, Scottish Rite Valley of Cleveland, and more recently a Noble of the Al Koran Shrine. He also serves on the Grand Lodge of Ohio’s Education Committee. He works in the IT field and has a wife, daughter, two dogs, and two cats.

On the Threshold

By Midnight Freemason Guest Contributor

Bro. Mike Hambrecht

I, like many of you, began my journey into Freemasonry by filling out a petition. I started my petition request because I wanted to know all about those conspiracy secrets. It was last August, when I emailed in my request. I heard back from, what would become my lodge, on October 15, 2015. When I heard back, I was shocked. I had actually begun to believe that I was not going to be allowed to join. You see my lodge goes dark for July and August, then they work the county fair for early September. So you see, no one was actually around to read my request until their October meeting.

Well, I called the member of my lodge who had emailed me back about my interest and that phone call changed everything for me. We spoke at some length about what Freemasonry does, what this lodge does and what is required of a man to be a mason. What struck me first, was the requirement to believe in a God, even though discussions of religion and politics are not allowed in a lodge. Knowing that I had to swear to a belief in a God, a higher being, got me thinking. I won’t go into all the details here but I had not really “believed” in anything Godlike for some time. I didn’t really disbelieve either. I just gave up on all that around the time of my divorce and never went back, even though I am now happily married. Well, I began to ask myself "...can I lie to the Masons just to learn their secrets?" I honestly didn’t know what I intended to do at that moment.

This eventually led me to really research Freemasonry. What I found excited me more than any conspiracy theory ever could. I found a brotherhood of good men trying to make themselves, their communities and their world better. I found centuries of history. I found connections to multiple religions and cultures. I found a place of learning.

The areas that my research had led me, had me thirsting for even more, and I found it. First, I found it on the Whence Came You podcast and from there, I got hooked on  The Winding Stairs and then on to The Masonic Roundtable. Eventually I branched out to other podcasts, The Tyler’s Place, After Lodge, In the Chair, X-Oriente and The Craftsman. What I got from all of these podcasts was a glut of different kinds of information. However, it wasn’t just the information I got but the awakening of my mind.

More precisely, it was the opening of my mind. One example they opened my mind to for example; my sister-in-law does Reiki and even when she first showed it to me several years ago, I thought it was hokey. All of that mystical mumbo jumbo, touchy, feely, and life energies, magnetism and synergy healing arts were nothing but some con game magic act. However, after listening to these brothers talk about the esoterics of Freemasonry, my mind was opened and when my employer offered me an opportunity to be in a body energies and heartfelt living / healing experience, I went. I not only went but was ready to believe and not debunk it. I found things happening that I could not explain but I found myself learning about these different ideas and how they worked. I had already begun to change just from these little encounters with Freemasonry.

Through it all I found myself asking do I still believe in a God as I knew I once did. I picked up my bible and read several different passages out of both the old and the new testament, including those read for each of the three degrees and found myself saying yes I still believe. So, I decided to go ahead with filling out a petition.

During my investigation, I did tell them of my original intentions for joining. Then I explained how I had begun researching Freemasonry and found something far more exciting than the National Treasure or pentagrams on the road map of Washington DC or a plan to rule the world from behind the scenes. I told them that I found a way to make a change in who I was, in who I had become and who I wanted to be. The lodge soon voted on my petition and I was accepted. When I found out, I was so excited.

I was initiated on January 13, 2016. What happened, within me, that night is enough for another article but what I have gained so far has given me so much more than I could have imagined while lying in bed one night watching TV show about Freemasonry’s conspiracies.

~MH

Bro. Mike Hambrecht was raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason on April 20, 2016 in Village Lodge #274 F & AM in Burton, Ohio. He has since joined the Royal Arch, Willoughby Royal Arch Chapter #231 also in Burton, Ohio and received all four degrees in a one-day session before his lodge and chapter went dark for the summer. He is currently working to get a Beehive Club going in his lodge. He works in the IT field and has a wife, daughter, three dogs, and two cats. For those who are interested his Dalmatian, Lance was on Dave Lettermen for dock diving.