Hello from an Australian moving to Houston

[Marcus Lee-Steere]

Greetings, I am currently an EA in Melbourne, Australia. I will be taking my Fellowcraft degree on 6 February and then moving to Houston, Texas, on 7 February 2024.

Naturally I will miss the welcome and friendship of my mother lodge here in Melbourne, but I'm looking forward to continuing my journey in Freemasonry and making new friends in Houston and across Texas.

 

[mvantuyl]

Welcome! And welcome to Texas!

 

[Bloke]

Hello Bro Marcus

Go back to your Lodge Secretary Wayne and ask him for a Travel Letter. This will be stamped by GL and serve as a letter of Introduction. Ask the Lodge Sec to include your Degree Dates in that letter.

@mvantuyl - if Texas opens in Third, will an EA or FC need anything special ?

Good luck in your travels Brother @Marcus Lee-Steere

 

[Chaz]

Welcome to the GLoTX!
I believe that along with the travel letter, you might need a disposition to continue degrees in an unaffiliated lodge or a petition of affiliation. It has been many winters since I last did that, so I could be mistaken. The new secretary at the Grand Lodge should be plenty helpful in getting you acquainted with the proper forms and procedures!

 

[Abdurrahim muhammad]

Dear brothers so this travel letter you speak of is this necessary for only those coming from another country or for those coming from any lodge to another??

 

[Keith C]

Dear brothers so this travel letter you speak of is this necessary for only those coming from another country or for those coming from any lodge to another??

As with most things Masonic the answer is "It depends." Typically here in the States a Dues Card is sufficient, but a 'Travelling Letter" is like a "Belt and Sunspenders", i.e. extra insurance in case of questions. It is pretty much mandatory going from Country to country.

 

[Marcus Lee-Steere]

Hello Bro Marcus

Go back to your Lodge Secretary Wayne and ask him for a Travel Letter. This will be stamped by GL and serve as a letter of Introduction. Ask the Lodge Sec to include your Degree Dates in that letter.

@mvantuyl - if Texas opens in Third, will an EA or FC need anything special ?

Good luck in your travels Brother @Marcus Lee-Steere

Many thanks for the reply Brother. So Bro. Wayne is definitely on the case, although rather complicated by me taking my Fellowcraft degree the night prior to flying to Houston. Likely I will receive the travel letter than night and I will post it back to UGLV on my way to the airport the next day for their stamp and forwarding on to me in Houston. The wheels turn slowly but a little patience isn't a bad thing and I am very fortunate and honoured to be able to achieve Fellowcraft prior to leaving.

 

[Marcus Lee-Steere]

Welcome to the GLoTX!
I believe that along with the travel letter, you might need a disposition to continue degrees in an unaffiliated lodge or a petition of affiliation. It has been many winters since I last did that, so I could be mistaken. The new secretary at the Grand Lodge should be plenty helpful in getting you acquainted with the proper forms and procedures!

Good advices, thanks Brother. I will wait until I have the travel letter in the first instance and then reach out to the GLoTX for advice.

 

[DustyNWindy]

Greetings, I am currently an EA in Melbourne, Australia. I will be taking my Fellowcraft degree on 6 February and then moving to Houston, Texas, on 7 February 2024.

Naturally I will miss the welcome and friendship of my mother lodge here in Melbourne, but I'm looking forward to continuing my journey in Freemasonry and making new friends in Houston and across Texas.

Hey Marcus - I’m new to this site and pretty new to Masonry. I’m searching the site and I live in Texas so I started my search with ‘Texas’ and you were the first to pop up.
So, did you make it to Houston and how was the transition to GLoTX?

 

[Marcus Lee-Steere]

Hey Marcus - I’m new to this site and pretty new to Masonry. I’m searching the site and I live in Texas so I started my search with ‘Texas’ and you were the first to pop up.
So, did you make it to Houston and how was the transition to GLoTX?

Hi, yes made it to Texas and now in Houston. Took a bit of time to get the necessary credentials from the United Grand Lodge of Victoria, which I need as a visitor/new arrival, but that has been sorted and so I've been visiting Lodges locally. I'm currently Fellow Craft so there is some limitation re what I can see and what meetings I can attend, but some lodges open in EA so I've enjoyed (and been impressed) hearing the memory work that Texas masons put into their degrees. I will leave any formal approach to joining a Lodge here (and hence the GLoTX) until after I am raised to Master Mason - during a short trip to Australia - in September. Hope you are finding Masonry interesting!

 

[DustyNWindy]

That is great. Yes, I think I’ve been looking all my life for what I am finding in masonry. The memory work can get tedious, but it gives me something positive running through my thoughts during the day. I’m turning in my MM work next week and am already practicing with a degree team at floor school.
I’m glad you are finding your place over here in the fraternity. All the best.

 

[Bloke]

Hi, yes made it to Texas and now in Houston. Took a bit of time to get the necessary credentials from the United Grand Lodge of Victoria, which I need as a visitor/new arrival, but that has been sorted and so I've been visiting Lodges locally. I'm currently Fellow Craft so there is some limitation re what I can see and what meetings I can attend, but some lodges open in EA so I've enjoyed (and been impressed) hearing the memory work that Texas masons put into their degrees. I will leave any formal approach to joining a Lodge here (and hence the GLoTX) until after I am raised to Master Mason - during a short trip to Australia - in September. Hope you are finding Masonry interesting!

Keep us posted !