Our suspension doesn’t have to mean ‘no Freemasonry’
by David Bird, Deputy Grand Superintendent of the Royal Arch in Lincolnshire
Never before have we seen anything like this four-month suspension of our Masonic activity – and I for one hope we never see it again.
I can’t be alone in my desire to get back into our buildings once again, and feel the warmth and friendship that come with sharing in our ceremonies and our festive boards.
But just because we’re not meeting doesn’t mean there can’t be an element of Freemasonry in our lives, and what better time could there be than now to look for a new way to make that ‘daily advancement in Masonic knowledge’ that we talk about a lot, but don’t necessarily make.
With that in mind, I’d especially like to draw your attention to some work being done about the Holy Royal Arch by our Second Provincial Grand Principal Mike Rix. He’s mined the rich seam of Solomon and drawn out some very interesting nuggets; references and explanations about elements of the Holy Royal Arch. They’re being shared thanks firstly to Provincial Grand Scribe E Adrian Joyce, who is sending them round to all of our Scribes E, and secondly thanks to Chris Bradley and Stuart Pearcey, who understand the inner workings of our Provincial web site. They have arranged for them to appear there too. Hopefully there, they can be read by those who have not yet discovered what Chapter membership has to offer.
I’d like to think that those brethren would have their appetite whetted, and prompt them to make further enquiries. An excellent place to start would be to sign up to the Master Masons Evening that – all things being equal – we intend to run at our Lincoln centre on November 3rd, when the Province will pay for a meal for those who attend. We’ve other similar evenings, and they’ve proved entertaining and interesting. Sign up by emailing me at david.bird@JohnRoe.Toyota.co.uk
The proportion of Lincolnshire’s master masons who go on to complete their Masonic journey with membership of one of our 33 Chapters is higher than it is in many Provinces in the UK. As such there’s a very good chance that at a craft meeting, when we can get to one of those again, you’ll be sitting next to someone who has already taken that step. Look out for the Chapter jewel, on its white, burgundy, or burgundy and blue ribbon, denoting membership.
Explore the Holy Royal Arch during the current suspension with the help of Mike Rix’s Solomon papers. It matters not if you’re already a member; it will certainly be an antidote to the gloom we see every time we switch on the news, and you might find yourself saying: “Well, I never knew that…”
