The aim of the OU SA Freemasons Club is to bring Freemasonry to the attention to anyone with an enquiring mind as to what it is and does and how it links to the Open University.
One of the oldest social organisations in the world, founded in London in 1717, Freemasonry is open to people from all religions and political persuasions, and provides the common foundation for friendships between members, many of which will last for life.
Tradition and continuity are two of the values which characterise the relationship between Freemasonry and universities. It was over 200 years ago that the first university Lodge, Apollo University Lodge, was founded at Oxford, with Isaac Newton University Lodge following soon afterwards at Cambridge. Since then, many thousands of young men have been introduced to Freemasonry through these two Lodges, and they provided the inspiration for the Universities Scheme. This was set up at the beginning of 2005 with the objective: ‘To establish and/or enhance arrangements and opportunities for undergraduates and other university members to enjoy Freemasonry’.
The OUSA Freemasons club is primarily a front door for prospective membership of OmniUm Lodge (10005) a Masonic Lodge located near Chester in the Province of Cheshire and Constituted under the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE).
The Lodge welcomes undergraduates and alumni from the Open University, and is a member of the Universities Scheme, which was set up to make it easier for undergraduates and graduates to enter craft masonry whilst at university. We welcome prospective applicants from across the country, with recent new members joining us in Chester from as far afield as Exeter and Newcastle.
There are also two female-only Grand Lodges: The Order of Women Freemasons and the Honourable Fraternity of Ancient Freemasons (Freemasonry for Women). They both follow the exact same ceremonies and wear the same regalia as male Freemasons, and they often work closely with members of UGLE lodges on community and charity projects. They also operate their own universities schemes: FFW University Lodge Scheme (hfaf.org) and University students can become Freemasons! (owf.org.uk)
If you would like to find out more, please e-mail members@ousafreemasonsclub.org in the first instance.
Website - https://ousafreemasonsclub.org/