|
Dangers of reading ritual
The reading of prayers at our meetings,
which is ordered or recommended by some
Provinces, has always seemed to me wrong,
and Comp. Salisbury’s suggestion (MQ,
Issue No. 15) that this practice should be
extended to Obligations is very disturbing.
The problems with any Brother reading
the ritual is that he will rarely, if ever, even
look at it beforehand. He comes to the
meeting knowing that he can read it, and
then proceeds to get the sense all wrong,
stumble over difficult words or obscure
names and the real meaning is lost.
It is only by learning the ritual that we
learn its real meaning and gain the ability
to say it in a similarly meaningful way.
I therefore disagree strongly with his
assertion that this would give a seamless
and accurate delivery of the ritual.
Keith Tallon
Blackheath, London
Muslim Masons
I wish to enquire if there are any Muslim
Masons in the Cheshire area interested in
founding a multi-faith Lodge. I have a
number of Christian and Jewish brethren
interested.
I have made contact with Masons in
Russia and visited Lodges in Turkey, so
some of them may have settled in the UK.
Any brother interested should contact me
at: 1 The Old Court House, off Old Market
Place, Knutsford, Cheshire wa16 6hx.
t: 01565 631 721.
J Malcolm Clerc
Knutsford, Cheshire
| |
Remembering Mason VCs
Last year a trip to the Somme and Ypres
battlefields was organised during which we
visited the graves of Brothers 2nd Lieutenant
Rupert Price Hallowes and Brigadier-General Frederick William Lumsden,
who were both awarded the Victoria Cross.
The trip was a great success, with
Masonic charity benefiting. Due to demand
it is intended to organise a similar trip for five
days and four nights from 28 July to
1 August this year, with profits again going
to charity.
For further details, please contact Alex
Bulloch on 0121 459 9008 or myself on
0121 777 9374.
David Paterson
Hall Green, Birmingham
Headstone of
Brigadier-General
Frederick William
Lumsden VC
|
Helpful cabbie
With reference to Letters (MQ, Issue
No. 16) in which a group of Masons wrote
to thank a cabbie for giving them a lift to
Freemasons’ Hall in London when they
were lost – I am that cab driver.
I was only too pleased to help five lost and
distressed brethren. The only correction to
that letter is that I am 74, not 76 – although
I might look it!
Len Heron
National Westminster Lodge No. 3647
2007 Scouting Jamboree
I feel sure that many of your members will
at one time or another have belonged to the
Scout Association, either as, Cubs, Scouts,
Senior Scout, Rovers or as Scout Leaders.
In 2007, as part of the Centenary of
Scouting, we plan to hold a reunion of all
those people who attended the last World
Jamboree hosted by the United Kingdom,
which was held in Sutton Coldfield in 1957.
If any readers attended the Jamboree
at Sutton Coldfield and would like to attend
the reunion more details can be obtained
from me: The Den, Nursery Lane, South
Wootton, King’s Lynn, Norfolk, pe30 3nb.
t: 01553 672903.
David@thedenkl.wanadoo.co.uk
David Andrews
King’s Lynn, Norfolk
Lord Swansea OSM
In your admirable obituary for Lord Swansea
(MQ, Issue No. 15), you mention all the
other Degrees in which he held high office,
but with one notable exception: you omitted
the Ancient and Accepted Rite (commonly
known as the “Rose Croix”) in which he was
for 18 years a valued member of the Supreme
Council Thirty-third Degree.
Unlike every other Masonic Order, this
Rite had no office equivalent to “Grand
Master” but is governed by a Supreme
Council of nine members. Membership
of this Council is by no means a sinecure:
there is a monthly business meeting which
takes up a whole morning and often spreads
into the afternoon.
There is a monthly meeting to confer
certain higher Degrees; the Supreme
Council carries out all consecrations of
new Chapters, installs all new Inspector-
Generals, presents centenary Warrants
and carries out numerous other duties.
Lord Swansea took all these duties very
seriously and seldom missed a meeting.
Sometimes he might be late, for he always
tended to arrive at the last moment. Indeed,
on one memorable occasion he missed the
train that was taking us to an important
meeting in the north of England.
We shall particularly miss his delightfully
dry sense of humour. We were in the West
Country for a consecration. It was warm
weather, so we travelled in casual wear
and changed into formal attire on arrival
at our hotel.
To my horror, I discovered that although
I had packed a suit and a black shirt, I had
forgotten to pack a clerical collar. What
was to be done? ‘Well,’ said Brother Lord
Swansea, ‘I have a spare starched collar –
perhaps you could wear it back to front.’
We tried it, and amazingly enough, it
worked! ‘Of course,’ murmured Lord
Swansea, “you can always say ‘The Lord
will provide’.”
The Rev. Canon Richard Tydeman
Felixstowe, Suffolk
|
|
Copyright 2002-2007
MQ Magazine
Web site created by Mark Griffin
|
|
Next Page
