Freemasonry: Making Good Men Better!
June 1st, 2021
Brethren, June will soon be upon us and with the summer solstice on the horizon we will reach the half way point of this calendar year in just a few weeks. June also represents traditionally the end of the masonic year for many lodges in this Jurisdiction including Corinthian Lodge No96. As I write my thoughts for this, my 25th Message from the East, it occurs to me that I will soon be entering my third year as Worshipful Master of this lodge. When W Bro Matt Pindera placed the Masters collar around my neck on June 6th 2019 I could not have imagined then that I would still be in possession of it in the summer of 2021. I am proudly the tenth Worshipful Master to serve Corinthian Lodge more than one term since being Instituted on May 27th, 1858 and the first to serve a consecutive term since W Bro TC Lapp in 1987.
The global pandemic has brought masonic progression across our Jurisdiction to a halt and although understandable, it is not what we want or envision for Masonry moving forward. I am thankful to all my Officers for supporting me through this long tenure and helping me maintain masonic conversation with our membership through both our Summons and our online meetings. I have asked various members to write short messages each month for the Summons and I have received positive feedback regarding this initiative from our membership. The Summons is the only masonic document many of our members receive and I hope the messages have been thankfully received and faithfully applied. It is also my hope that we are able to elect a new Worshipful Master and Officers in the near future to put our lodge on a path forward with new and exciting leadership.
Looking forward to the online Communication of Grand Lodge in July, I will be encouraging every Corinthian Past Master and eligible Officer to register for voting between June 12th and 17th. The voting will take place on Friday June 18th and Saturday June 19th between 9am and 4pm each day. Typically, each year, we have up to ten Corinthian members register at the Fairmount Royal York hotel to vote. If you look at the Proceedings of Grand Lodge each Fall you will notice that Past Grand Master, MW Bro Alan Petrisor, regularly registers himself as a Corinthian member. I implore all Corinthian Past Masters to please take time and register to vote in these elections. This is a historic year whereby voting will take place online for the first time since the inception of our Grand Lodge in 1855, this means that eligible voters will not have to attend the convention to cast a vote.
Thousands of Masons from across Ontario will be able to cast votes for our Grand Lodge Officers as well as for the Board of General Purposes from the comfort of their own homes. Many dedicated Masons from around the Province have put their names forward to run for positions to govern Masonry in our Jurisdiction, do the process honour by taking a little time to register and vote. There is no excuse for anyone eligible to not vote this year if they have access to a computer. The list of candidates is available and you can do your research by attending online “meet the candidates” sessions and by communicating with fellow brethren. This may be the biggest voter turnout our Jurisdiction has ever seen so don’t miss out on being part of this historic election….it’s your duty!
I would also ask that you please make every effort to attend our online Zoom meetings. These meetings are not long, we have a set agenda and we do spend some time planning and arranging these sessions on your behalf. You do not have to put on a suit or leave your home for the evening as we do for regular lodge meetings. These are easy, online gatherings from the comfort of your own home, you can stay for the full hour or just pop in for a while and show your support. I try to update the lodge on what is happening in masonry around the District and around the Jurisdiction. Your participation is appreciated and if we cannot garner interest from the membership to join in for one hour on a Thursday night once a month then we truly have a problem that needs to be addressed. We are one of the few lodges in Ontario that have been holding regular online meetings since September on our regular meeting nights, please make an effort to attend and support your lodge brethren.
Finally brethren, I and the Worshipful Masters from Kempenfeldt and Kerr Lodge have been discussing holding joint Tri-Lodge online Zoom Meetings this summer. Each lodge would host a meeting and the other two could join in for updates and joint discussions. We will be holding a Tri-Lodge event on Tuesday June 1st at 7pm. Kempenfeldt Lodge will be hosting and have invited the Grand Master, The Most Worshipful Bro David J. Cameron who will be giving a talk on the “Pandemic Effect”. The Grand Master is a physician and a gifted speaker so please make every effort to join the meeting and help our Kempenfeldt brethren welcome our Grand Master online to Georgian South District.
