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Masons and the tsunami
The reaction of the Craft to the Asian flood
disaster has been overwhelming, showing
the true nature of Freemasonry, as we detail
on pages 60-61. As soon as the extent of the
tsunami disaster became evident – within
hours of the disaster – Grand Charity
president Raymond Lye had sent £100,000
via the British Red Cross, and the special
Relief Chest, for individual Masons and
Lodges, has swollen to more than £560,000.
It is a matter of pride among Masons that
the Grand Charity has acted with such speed
and generosity on behalf of the entire Craft,
as they have on so many previous occasions.
The four main Masonic charities are
constantly working to the benefit of society,
Mason and non-Mason alike. The pages
of this issue of MQ again bear testimony
to their dedicated work.
Keep it short
Long-winded Lodge minutes have come
under the scrutiny of the Board of General
Purposes, whose advice on the subject can
be found in the Quarterly Communication
of Grand Lodge (Pages 22-25).
The Board makes the point that minutes
are about the formal record of Lodge
business, not a “detailed description of every
aspect of the ceremonies and administrative
business.” Moreover, says the Board,
this long-windedness is a relatively new
phenomenon, often linked to the increasing
use of word processors.
There is only a need to identify the
ceremony, the candidate and those taking
part in the work – if that is not immediately
obvious from the offices held by those
taking part. The Board also prefer that
the minutes are sent out with the Lodge
Summons. Nothing is more tedious than
secretaries reading out the minutes, often at
length, to a bored meeting anxious to get on
with the real business of the Lodge. Along
with the decision of Grand Lodge to end
the nonsense of issuing pieces of paper for
election of Master and Treasurer when there
is only one candidate for each post, provided
their nominations are on the Summons, all
helps to speed up meetings.
Identity theft
Masons are taught to be cautious, so Lodge
secretaries and treasurers are urged to watch
out for a growing criminal activity – identity
theft. Grand Lodge has an example of a bank
contacting a Lodge secretary after it had
received an order, allegedly signed by the
secretary and treasurer, to transfer £6,500
to another bank account.
The bank was suspicious, as the Lodge
did not have such a sum in its account. The
signatures were forgeries and the police are
now investigating. However, the signatures
appear to have been copied from actual
signatures of the two Lodge officers
concerned. The warning is clear: take the
utmost care in destroying correspondence
rather than just dumping it in the dustbin.
Irregular body
Anthony Wilson, President of the Board
of General Purposes, warned Grand Lodge
in March of an irregular body styling itself
the “Regular Grand Lodge of England”,
governed by something called “the Masonic
High Council for England and Wales.”
He added: “It claims a number of
members and at least one Lodge. While
this body appears to draw its members from
Brethren of other Constitutions rather
than our own, I must remind members
of the Craft that any Freemason under this
Grand Lodge who does in any way become
associated with it, as with any other irregular
self-styled Masonic body, must resign from
the Craft or render himself liable to Masonic
disciplinary proceedings.”
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MQ Magazine
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