My Year In The Grand West

I have known WBro Nitin Pande for only a few years - via King Cyrus Chapter, of which RWBro Al Dvorak is also a companion - and I had never visited Richardson Lodge prior. So it was quite a pleasure to sit in the West for the Installation of Nitin the other night and watch the smile grow wider, with great pride, at every turn in the ceremony. Impressed he was. It was also one of my first post-op visits with sidekick RWBro Mark Kapitan as well. Also in attendance was MWBro Terry Shand who pulled me aside afterward to note, privately, that I had made a small error in my work of the evening, which had made him smile, when I'd answered the WM when closing in the third by bluntly stating "No"to begin - though followed by the appropriate sentences - when asked if we had discovered anything. It was a moment that reminded me when I was a young EA and was signing the Tyler's Register at a lodge I was visiting with "Beaches Lodge" and MWBro C Edwin Drew, who was be

On November 23, a new lodge was granted dispensation by our Grand Lodge in order for the brethren of Heredom Lodge UD to now provide Observant Masonry in Toronto. The ceremony was carried out in darkness with the exception of candle lights. The visitors entered the lodge room, while listening to Haydn's piece called "Die Schopfung" - translated as The Creation - and each then stood silently awaiting the entrance of the members of our other two Ontario-based Observant Lodges who would first sit in the officers chairs to open, and they were followed shortly thereafter by the soon-to-be seated officers of Heredom Lodge. After the traditional opening and Toronto Humber Valley's DDGM reading the dispensation, and a presentation delivered related to the music and its significant import, while "Im Anfange schuf Gott Himmel und Erde" was played - which translates to In the Beginning God created Heaven and Earth - and RW Bro Gareth Taylor provided insight in to t

This was a special night for me. I had just come out of the hospital on the Saturday prior, having had my gallbladder removed, and this evening was an Emergent Meeting for The Beaches Lodge and it was a night where my oldest boy Eric was to provide the candidate with the SW lecture in the 2nd degree. I had to check earlier with RWBro Gord Crutcher as to what attire I was to wear, given officers typically only wear a regular business suit, and seeing as it was an Emergent Meeting of my own mother lodge I could in fact dress down and wear a tux... not a white tie and tails.  One thing you can notice in the photo is that my apron is falling down. Yes, I did lose some weight during my 4-day stay in the hospital, which began on Wednesday November 13, with the surgery being done on Friday night at 10pm. While there, Eric came to visit several times and we had an opportunity to go through his work together to be properly prepared for the degree, which he was. You might also be able to see

The William Mercer William Medal is one of the highest honours a member of the Craft in this jurisdiction can receive, given years of unblemished service, and yesterday Bro Paul Laver proudly received his from the Grand Master at Harding Lodge 477 in Woodville.  In July 1944, Most Worshipful Brother Timothy Clark Wardley, in his annual communication to Grand Lodge, presented the idea of a special medal for outstanding Masonic service. This medal, now known as the “William Mercer Wilson Medal”, may be awarded only to one who, for one reason or another, did not aspire or attain the position of the Worshipful Master of a Craft Lodge. The awarding of this honour also extends certain privileges and courtesies to the recipients. The owner of The William Mercer Wilson Medal is entitled, like anyone who has achieved the position of Worshipful Master of a Craft Lodge, the honour of sitting in the East. He is entitled to grand honours. He or they should also be referred to in the preamble to

After a formal banquet - and the room was filled to capacity - the brethren and many visitors, including the Grand Master, assembled, entered the lodge and were witness to a very memorable Masonic evening: beginning with the Empty Chair ceremony , followed by the 60 Year pin presented to Bro Lt Col Norm Cohen (ret), and then a precision Military Degree Team conferred an excellent  EA degree fo r our candidate Bro Shin Suzuki. Another special guest of the evening was WBro Steve Connelly, who, while the candidate was resuming his personal comforts, assisted me in providing a presentation on the Vimy Gavel  - a unique and valuable piece of Masonic history - and then delivered a presentation on Bro Lt Col Sharpe, who was responsible for leading a small troop of his men onto Vimy Ridge after the battle to retrieve the oak from which the six Vimy Gavels were then crafted.  WBro Derek McNulty sat in the Chair o King Solomon and led the degree, impeccaly; WBro Joe Curry sat in the South as

On this evening I proudly sat in the West for the Installation and Investiture of the Officers at Corinthian Lodge 481 in Newmarket, and GJW sat in the South - and it was not snowing when I left tobegin my drive ut it was snowing when I returned, a first snowfall of the year, and this was also to be the last night when I used the borrowed regalia of RWBro Mel Duke. After being duly invested I welcomed the new SW into his chair or a well-deserved 'rest in the west'. At the head table, I sat next to the WM - soon to be IPM - who told me of a few intriguing books he had read recently, which drew the parallels etween the Craft and Alchemy. It was an enlightening discussion and reminded me of what I had heard years prior when visiting a Rosicrucian meeting. Per their website: Corinthian Lodge No. 481 G.R.C. celebrated its 100th Anniversary in 2007, having been inaugurated on 10 January 1907. The details are not clear, but it seems that the lodge came about as a result of some s