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Most lodges assemble once a month for a business meeting, where communications are read, bills are paid, proposed members are voted on, and the members catch up on each other’s lives.
Often, guest speakers are invited, or a member gives a presentation on the ritual, history, philosophy, or symbols of Masonry.
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Special meetings are held to initiate new members and perform the various ceremonies to advance them to full membership. These ceremonies are called degrees.
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Masons also gather for the somber purpose of conducting funeral services for their deceased members.
Because the primary goal of Freemasonry is fellowship, a meal is usually served before or after the meeting, either in the lodge building or at a nearby restaurant. Depending on the traditions, formality, and finances of its members, meals can be as simple as pizza or bologna sandwiches, or as sumptuous as a seven-course feast, in the old English Festive Board tradition of a banquet and ceremonial toasting.
