What Does It Take to Become a Mason?

When Branford’s Chris Hauman, founder of Webbersaur.us, decided he was going to join the Branford Masons, three men on horses rode to his home and made him undergo a series of rituals as a right of passage.

OK, only part of that story is true.

Three men did show up at Hauman’s house about one year ago to interview him about joining the lodge on Eades Street, which will be hosting an . “I was a little nervous,” confessed Hauman of the visit, but added, “there’s no need to be.”

Hauman was approached by 22-year Master Mason, David Minicozzi who has a law practice in town to join the Masons – an organization that has been in Branford since the early 1800s and is currently a Widow’s Son Lodge. Minicozzi said he thought Hauman would be a good fit for the lodge so he had his friend fill out a petition with references before he could embark on the year-long journey towards Masonry.

“Based on what Dave told me, it sounded like an organization I wanted to be a part of. To do good for the community, meet like-minded people and build new friendships,” commented Hauman. “The philosophy of the organization is to better the community for the greater good.”

As he reflects on the upcoming open house with the hope to attract new members, Minicozzi said the Masons look at new candidates and ask: “Is this guy going to be a good fit for our fraternity?; Are you joining for the right reasons?” Minicozzi added, “You are not here to pass out your business cards… this is not the rotary.”

So what are Masons and why the mystery?

Unlike the portrayal of Masons in Dan Brown’s The Divinci Code, Branford’s Masons are not burning each other with insignia. When they meet every first and third Wednesday of the month, they spend part of their meeting eating a potluck dinner and part of the evening sharing Masons’ news and discussing the appointment of their seven-tier leaders. Rituals, though, added Minicozzi, are done and secret handshakes are exchanged – both of which he was unwilling to share.

Reflecting on a recent A&E television show on secret societies depicting Mason rituals, Minicozzi said, “What they are portraying is pretty accurate. You can look at it and watch it but if you’re not going through it, you’re not going to get it.”

“I can tell you,” he continued, “going through these three steps [to become a Master Mason] was the most intense experience.”

Most of Branford’s Masons are Master Masons, the status both Minicozzi and Hauman hold. There are also seven officers within the organization who lead the group; Minicozzi made it as far as Senior Deacon but did not pursue the top spot of Master; the current Master is Branford resident Jay Fernandes.

The upcoming open house is open to all people, though women are not allowed to join the Masons, they may come to learn about the organization. The Branford faction of the Masons had five new members join when Chris received his right of passage – the most the organization has had join at one time in a really long time said Minicozzi. “There was a time,” he commented, “that if you were not a Mason in town, you weren’t going to get ahead.”

“Younger people,” like Hauman who is 39, said Minicozzi, “are seeing the value in joining.”

Branford Masons Officers
(all officers must go through every rank to become a Master)

Junior Steward

Senior Steward

Junior Deacon

Senior Deacon

Junior Warden

Senior Warden

Master

Steps To Become a Mason

Be sought by current Mason to become a Mason

Fill out Petition

Vow belief in a unified supreme being

Work through degrees to enter organization – about one year of community work and “degree work” which consists mostly of reading their “secret” book and testing.