Ancient Baltimore Lodge #234 AF&AM
Resources & External Links
Freemasonry generates a lot of websites and not much guidance about which ones matter. This page is our attempt to fix that for anyone connected to Ancient Baltimore Lodge #234 — prospective members, current members, visiting brethren, and the simply curious. Rather than a bare list of links, we’ve noted what each resource actually is, who it’s for, and when you’d use it. If you don’t find what you need here, the fastest route to an answer is always our Secretary — see our Contact page.
Where to Start
If you’re thinking about becoming a Mason: start on our own site, not the Grand Lodge’s. Becoming a Master Mason explains the degrees and the petition process step by step, and Inquire Here is the direct way to reach us. The first real step is always a conversation with our Secretary — Freemasonry famously doesn’t recruit, so that first contact has to come from you.
If you’re a member of Ancient Baltimore #234: your day-to-day links are the Member Portal for Grand Lodge records and the Compass Points newsletter for statewide news. Our own Events page carries the lodge schedule, and lodge announcements appear on our Blog.
If you’re a Mason visiting Baltimore: see “Visiting Our Lodge” below — we’d be glad to have you.
If you’re researching Freemasonry generally: the Grand Lodge of Maryland site is the authoritative source for our jurisdiction, and our blog posts (for example, Masonry and Courage) give a sense of how our own lodge thinks about the Craft.
Grand Lodge of Maryland Resources
Ancient Baltimore Lodge #234 is a constituent lodge of the Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of Maryland, which traces its founding to 1787. Every Maryland lodge operates under its charter, and these official resources apply to all of us.
Grand Lodge of Maryland — The official home of Maryland Freemasonry. This is where jurisdiction-wide announcements land first, and its lodge locator covers every constituent lodge in the state. If you’ve found us but live closer to another part of Maryland, this is the honest place to look for a lodge near you.
How to Become a Mason — The Grand Lodge’s statewide inquiry form. It works, and it will route you to a lodge — but if you’re in the Baltimore area and interested in our lodge specifically, inquiring with us directly skips a step and gets you talking to our Secretary sooner.
Grand Lodge Calendar — The Grand Master’s statewide schedule: official visits, cornerstone ceremonies, and jurisdiction-wide events. Useful to members planning to attend Grand Lodge functions; our own meeting schedule lives on our Events page, not here.
Philanthropy — An overview of Maryland Masonic charity at the state level, including the Maryland Masonic Homes in Cockeysville. For what our own lodge does locally, see our Charity Work page — lodge-level giving is separate from (and in addition to) these statewide programs.
Facility Rental (Bonnie Blink) — The Grand Lodge’s Cockeysville campus, available to rent for weddings and private events. Included here because we’re asked about it more often than you’d expect; note this is the Grand Lodge’s facility, not ours — our lodge meets in Baltimore’s Hampden neighborhood.
Free State Freemason — The Grand Lodge’s magazine, published as a free download. Good long-form reading on Maryland Masonic history and current programs; back issues are a genuinely underrated resource for anyone researching Freemasonry in Maryland.
Compass Points — The free weekly e-newsletter. The fastest way to stay current on statewide Masonic news; subscription is open to anyone, member or not.
Member Portal — Sign-in for Maryland Masons to manage their Grand Lodge records. Members only; if you have trouble with your account, contact the Grand Lodge office rather than the lodge Secretary.
Visiting Our Lodge
Traveling brethren are always welcome at Ancient Baltimore Lodge #234. We meet on the first and third Tuesdays of each month, September through June, at 7:00 PM (no meetings in July or August) at Good Shepherd United Methodist Church, 3800 Roland Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21211 — in the Hampden neighborhood, with street parking nearby.
If you plan to visit, please reach out to our Secretary ahead of time through our Contact page so we can expect you. Bring your current dues card, and be prepared for the usual proofs if we haven’t sat in lodge together before — our Tilers do their job. Program details for each stated communication are posted to our Events page as meetings approach.
Our Lodge’s Charitable Foundation
The Ancient Baltimore Foundation is the charitable arm of our lodge’s giving in the Baltimore community. You can read about our work on the Charity Work page, and donations to the Foundation can be made directly online. Charity is not a side project of Freemasonry — relief is one of its founding principles, and the Foundation is how our lodge practices it locally.