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Post by leonardo on Sept 3, 2007 22:58:40 GMT
"I'll pass that one over to Bro:. Steve, who was more intensely involved with that side of things."Indeed so and I had the pleasure of showing people round the Chapel which we had laid out as a Craft Lodge. These visitors varied. There were two Brethren from UGLE, one of whom was accompanied by his wife who was a Lady Mason, an Anglican Clergyman and his wife , a young couple in their twenties, and one gentleman who whilst not himself a Freemason was very knowledgeable about the subject. Our Most Puissant Grand Commander gave a most interesting Talk about Le Driot Humain and answered questions from the visitors. All in all it was a very enjoyable and I feel beneficial exercise. Great to see such diversity amongst those in attendance, certainly one in the eye for those who claim Masonry only attracts certainly individuals.
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Post by gaslight on Sept 4, 2007 1:39:06 GMT
[ There were two Brethren from UGLE, one of whom was accompanied by his wife who was a Lady Mason, an Anglican Clergyman and his wife [snip] Know what? We had one of those affiliate to my mother lodge a couple of months ago. An Anglican Clergyman, I mean, not a wife. He'd be a natural for our Lodge Chaplain, but he's never held office in his mother lodge and is keen to work his way up from Inner Guard.
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Post by Cambuel on Sept 4, 2007 2:00:43 GMT
The more the merrier, Vroiko! It's a lot of hard work, but very rewarding. Which Order are you in? Le Droit Humain
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Post by gaslight on Sept 4, 2007 2:32:41 GMT
I thought it might be of some use to Brn:. elswhere ... let's see what I can impart. It's all very fresh, some of the data is still in analysis and we haven't debriefed yet, so what you have here is my personal impressions only -- might still be of some use. Of tremendous interest, believe me. I appreciate your detailed response and will comment on just a few points. The Internet has certainly made a difference. In 2002 I had to look around for a temporary meeting place for my two lodges. Construction of our new temple was behind schedule and we needed somewhere to meet. I phoned up halls, hotels, etc. but struck lucky when a Brother with a restaurant offered use of his banquet room. He also tyled for us! Similar to our setup, but we've had serious problems with the part about finding a Proposer and Seconder. Within the last eight months we've had two cases of petitioners canvassing signatures and members acceding a little too readily, all too eager to be helpful but less than mindful of their responsibilities. One of those cases is still unresolved. The proposer has been gently chided for giving the petitioner the impression that all was decided, but the proposer is having difficulty understanding what he did wrong. Did you have to pay for the radio and newspaper announcements? My lodges have tried placing free newspaper announcements, but the requests were ignored. Free 'What's On' magazines will probably not care about what ads they carry, but many Brethren don't want to be listed alongside tanning salons, charity barbecues, and dating clubs. I've seen the same thing happen. The worst example was when a potential candidate visited our temple for our lunch meeting and one of our members decided to launch into a long spiel about the esoteric power of the MM's apron: how it stores psychic energy and creates a protective force field around the wearer. This Brother said he knew of some Masons (in Mexico, for the record) who wore their MM aprons under their clothes if they had to do some intensely stressful or dangerous work. I could have wept. What do you do in a situation like that? Tell the Brother to shut up? Tell the visitor to ignore the Brother? We're totally in synch on this. The enquirer should be made aware that the choice is his or hers, and the best way to do that is to suggest other options. With male enquirers I mention other charitable groups such as the Lions or the Rotary, or other lodges that meet in other locations at other times. I also mention other jurisdictions with other rituals and other traditions. If the enquirer is female, I have to draw her attention to female or comasonic orders as my own lodges are male-only.
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Post by corab on Sept 4, 2007 11:12:30 GMT
Le Droit Humain Cool -- in which case: please pass on my Lodge's fraternal greetings to yours! ;D HGW, Cora
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Y Mahomed
Member
3rd door left of right
Posts: 97
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Post by Y Mahomed on Sept 4, 2007 18:31:26 GMT
Sisters, friends ... !
I hope it went well CoraB ;D
ciao
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Post by waynecowley on Sept 12, 2007 16:31:34 GMT
Cora/Steve - wonderful to hear how well it went
I was only discussing the possibility of trying something similar in our Temple the other evening - perhaps I can use your success as an example of what can be done
Wayne
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