Membership Requirements

  If you are a Master Mason, registered,  in good standing with a Masonic Lodge, you qualify, to join the Shrine.  In a Masonic Lodge, a man receives the three degrees known as the Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft and Master Mason Degrees often known as the Symbolic or Craft Lodge.  

  In Canada, Masonry does not solicit members.  No one is asked to join, and a man must seek admission of his own free will -- therefore he must ask.  In some areas, Masons are permitted to solicit new members such as in the United States.  In all cases, a man interested in becoming a Mason, if he has not been asked, should consult a friend whom he knows to be a Freemason and secure his good counsel and recommendation concerning this important undertaking.

The Developmental Facets of Freemasonry

  Freemasonry makes good men better.  How do we do that?  By developing and maintaining a clear and comprehensive understanding of the very tenets of Masonry that have been developed over the centuries.  Masonry's primary function is based on developing the inner qualities of man to the highest level.  In order to do so, one must invest time and effort.  In order to accomplish this level of knowledge and education as well as gain and appreciation of the grounding of Masonry, there are Masonic bodies with whom you may join. They are the York Rite and the Scottish Rite, each of which are unique and most impressive in their substance and teachings.

  Historically, a Master Mason must have achieved the 32nd Degree in the Scottish Rite or the Knights Templar Degree in the York Rite before he could petition to become a Noble of the Mystic Shrine.  Now, you may go directly from the Craft Lodge to the Shrine and become a Noble.  However, we cannot stress enough the importance of the York Rite and the Scottish Rite in the development of the inner man. To that end, we urge everyone to to join one or the other of these Masonic bodies so that the depth and appreciation of Freemasonry may be yours to share in a most comprehensive manner.

  The Shrine of North America is a fraternity that grew out of Freemasonry  centuries ago.  Because of this association, the Shrine is dedicated to propagating and encouraging Masonic principles in all of its brethren.  It also offers men, their wives and their families an opportunity to meet new friends who share similar interests in a fraternal atmosphere of mutual appreciation and accommodation.