My Year In The Grand West

Back to my Mother Lodge on this first Thursday in March for our annual OV, and tonight we welcomed RWBro Gil Carreiro, DDGM Toronto East, for his annual inspection. We first enjoyed a wonderful meal at the banquet hall in the York Temple and then, upon opening, passed to the Second Degree Bro George Kierstead, while also enjoying a piece of Masonic Education presented by WBro Derek McNulty on the intriguing subject of Acacia. Next month, the brethren will cast their votes for the new officer line-up and at our OV, the SW was Bro Eric Boyce, who delivered the FC lecture, and on this night WBro Steve Spence announced he would be letting his name stand for the office of GSW in July.  The Sprig of Acacia, as found on the website Sacred Texts, and related to Freemasonry: Intimately connected with the legend of the third degree is the mythical history of the Sprig of Acacia, which we are now to consider. There is no symbol more interesting to the masonic student than the Sprig o...

This was a special night, not only for me, but for my son, who is now the SW in The Beaches Lodge and who was leading the degree team - as it was Step Up Night - and on this evening, Thursday, Feb 6, Bro Eric Boyce, sitting on the level in the East, and his officers raised two FC to the sublime degree of the Master Mason - and also while open in the 3rd proved a very capable member, who will soon be invested as an officer. As I watched the degree, I was reminded of the year 2011 when I was still the SW of The Beaches and when in May subsequently was installed as WM - and the first to be installed at York Temple. I have now watched many of the lodge officers be initiated, passed and raised in our new home (albeit temporary), including the current WM, WBro Jonathan Miles, and indeed I was proud of these young men, and the candidates, who were very well prepared, and look forward to watching their progress in the Craft.

On the first Thursday of the new year, 2020, this was Past Master's Night at The Beaches Lodge, and I was asked to sit in the West during the Initiation of our candidate, taking the chair of Bro Eric Boyce - who will be installed in May. It was very much a fun night - as I was sandwiched between WBro Andrew Douris and WBro Derek McNulty - and I'm sure everyone had a great time before, during and after the ceremony. At the banquet, I sat with a four of our lodge's very bright and curious members and the conversation floated from the Masonic Foundation off Ontario and its good works, to ancient megaliths in Japan, and some of the esoteric aspects of Freemasonry, and among the many topics we discussed were the Emerald Tablets and Thoth  as well as the fabled two pillars  ("… according to legend, Thoth preserved his canon of writings inside two great pillars “just before the Great Flood inundated the world.” Thousands of years later, the pillars were rediscovered. Accor...

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 ...

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 s...

Last night, my mother lodge, The Beaches Lodge No 473 held a wonderful reception for me at York Temple, and also invested VWBro Robert Jewell (who was at my initiation in 2005) with his regalia as Assistant Grand Organist. The lodge was opened at 7pm, and visitors were admitted shortly thereafter, and after being afforded Grand Honours, lodge was closed in order to bring in the guests of the evening, which included my wife, Arlene, and our sons William and Richard. My eldest son Eric was already in lodge as SW, and he welcomed Michaela to also sit in the North with their two children Olivia and Ayven.  Several of my brethren in lodge were asked to provide a synopsis of their relationship with me and share a few of their experiences along the way. WBro Christian Giles spoke about our first day in lodge, and some of our subsequent ventures around the world, and the impact of Freemasonry we have enjoyed together, WBro Russ Richardson regaled us with stories from our days in the mus...