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BACK NEXT Winter 2008/9 Issue 47 Letter from the Editor Grand Lodge News News and Views On The Level Cornerstone Society International News Beyond The Craft Masonic Events Is The Dream Still Alive? You'll Never Walk Alone Masonic Mentoring Listening To Sacred Places The Mace Museum FMT Book Of Records Masonic Research Brother Lightfoote's Journal Review: Builders of Empire Review: Knowledge of the Heart Review: The Masonic Magician Review: The Scottish Key Letters to the Editor Library & Museum of Freemasonry Grand Lodge Supreme Grand Chapter Grand Charity Masonic Samaritan Fund RMBI RMTGB Canon Richard Tydeman: Remember Now Copyright 1997-2010 Grand Lodge Publications Ltd Designed and Maintained by: Cyberpoint Limited

FREEMASONRY TODAY Winter 2008/9 - Issue 47 - Index Letter from the Editor It was with sadness that I heard the decision of Lord Northampton to resign as Pro Grand Master. And that feeling was reinforced by his address to Brethren attending Grand Lodge in December, the highlights of which are given on page 7 of this issue. Lord Northampton ushered in a remarkable reorientation of the Craft and Royal Arch. It is not so much that elements have been changed, though of course there have been changes, it is that Freemasonry’s relationship with its Brethren and with society beyond has been refocused. After the Second World War, Freemasonry experienced a huge increase in membership: between 1945 and 1950 the formation of new lodges was running ... Grand Lodge: Grand Secretary's Column Charities Can Weather Economic Storm Lord Northampton’s Message To All Brethren News and Views: Royal Masonic Variety Show A Big Hit — Andrew John Montgomery 1952 - 2008 — Hereford Support Riding For The Disabled — Sussex Fund Safety Boat For Sea Scouts — Grand Charity Lifeboat Grant — Hinckley Backs Air Ambulance — Help For Heroes Campaign Given A Boost — Fishy Business At Hampstead On The Level: Essex Masters’ Gift — Eric Mock Installed At West Wales — Soccer Unites Two Lodges — Dorset Choice — Bill Sails On At 108 — New Durham PGM — Best Foot Forward Cornerstone Society: The Quest For The Lost Word International News: Grand Charity Aids Stricken Areas — Norfolk Masons Help Far East Visit — Top South African Post For Ex-Essex Mason — Help From The East Africa Trust — What’s Happening In Your Region? Beyond the Craft: Royal & Select Masters’ Donation — Support For Injured Soldiers — Mark Backs Hereford Scanner — Chris Radmore Takes On Herts Mark Role — Knights Celebrate Masonic Events: Somerset Gift To Wells Cathedral — New Charity Launched After Bristol Festival Record Is The Dream Still Alive? During the recent U.S. Presidential Elections, Barack Obama, now the country’s 44th President elect asked a thought-provoking question: ‘is the dream of the founding fathers still alive?’ On hearing this, I could not help but think that a similar question could equally be asked of Freemasonry Is the dream of our own founding fathers still alive; and what exactly was it? Musing on this question, I would advocate that we need to go back to basics, the Constitutions of 1723, which were compiled James Anderson and overseen by a specially appointed committee of the Grand Lodge. For this seminal work contains the essential principles which still guide our craft today. And yet most modern ... You'll Never Walk Alone Liverpool FC is the most successful club in the history of English football, winners of eighteen First Division titles, seven FA Cups, a record five European Cups and seven League cups. In 2011, the club is scheduled to move to a new stadium at Stanley Park, but since 1892 they have played at Anfield Stadium, on a ground originally leased by one John Houlding. The original incumbent at Anfield was Everton Football Club, now Liverpool’s arch rivals ... Masonic Mentoring Masonic mentoring has been with us for many years in various guises and yet Grand Lodge records show that we are still losing one in four of our initiates within the first five years of membership. Somewhere something has failed. A brother who was questioned why he had put in his resignation within just two years of joining gave this reply: ‘I didn’t really know what I was joining, but I knew that my Proposer was a decent and honourable man and he always spoke so highly of Freemasonry. My first night was overwhelming and I’m still not sure what ... Listening To Sacred Places Freemasons will appreciate that the ancient Egyptians knew many secret arts, and we can safely assume that the secrets of sound were among them. For instance, there is a fallen obelisk in the great temple complex of Karnak in Luxor and if the ear is placed close to its pyramidal point and the block struck with the hand, the whole piece of granite can be heard to resonate. Goethe referred to architecture as ‘frozen music’ and so it seems to have been ... The Mace Museum This historic market town in Nottinghamshire played an active part during the English Civil war in support of the royalist cause, but its castle was built much earlier, in the twelfth century, by Bishop Alexander of Lincoln. We visited the remnants under the expert guidance of the Parks and Gardens Manager, Rene Mouraille. We entered the eerie dungeons where Knights Templar had been incarcerated in 1310 and we viewed symbolic wall markings ... FMT Book Of Records At Freemasonry Today we have received many letters from Brethren aspiring to various masonic records. We decided to bring these together in the "Book of Records". If you can better any of these, or add some other record, then please contact The Editor, Freemasonry Today, Freemasons' Hall, Great Queen Street, London, WC2B 5AZ. email: editor@freemasonrytoday.co.uk ... Masonic Research In January, the Centre for Research into Freemasonry and Fraternalism (CRFF) at Sheffield University, acquired a new Director, Dr. Andreas Onnerfors, who replaced its erstwhile Director, Professor Andrew Prescott. Eleven months on, having given Dr. Onnerfors a chance to acclimatise to his new life here in the UK, Freemasonry Today decided to see how the work of centre is currently progressing. The Centre was launched ... Brother Lightfoote's Journal Matthew was one of the Four Evangelists and is sometimes represented by an Angel. It is believed that such a being guided his hand as he wrote his gospel. He is sometimes depicted wearing anachronistic spectacles, presumably to assist him in reading his ledgers as he was, originally, a tax collector. He is the Patron Saint of Bankers, though it is my firm belief that Judas Iscariot would be far better cast in that role. A century and a half has passed since the notorious Dutch Tulip Mania of the sixteen-thirties. Nobody, of course, remembers it and nobody, it appears ... Review: Builders Of Empire: Freemasons And British Imperialism, 1717-1927 Review: Knowledge Of The Heart: Gnostic Movements And Secret Traditions. The Canonbury Papers Vol. 5 Review: The Masonic Magician. The Life and Death of Count Cagliostro and his Egyptian Rite Film Review: The Scottish Key Letters to the Editor Seeking a Local Lodge — Freemasonry and Cuba — The Gates of the Temple — Recruitment — But Can He Drive? — Lichfield Bells — Posting Abroad — Oops! — Reigning Masters — National Memorial Arboretum — The Alamo — Royal Air Force Freemasons Library & Museum of Freemasonry The basis of English Freemasonry is on three Grand Principles; Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth. Early this year, the Library and Museum hosts an exhibition telling the story of the second of those Grand Principles, Relief – or Charity as it is more commonly known. When the first Grand Lodge of England came about in 1717, masonic lodges had already been involved in the relief of fellow masons for many years. The Old Charges of operative lodges made it clear that it was the duty of the lodges to look out for travelling stonemasons in need of work or relief. In 1727, the Premier Grand Lodge set up a Committee of Charity, consisting of all the Grand Officers and the Masters of ... Quarterly Communication of Grand Lodge, 10 December 2008, Report of the Board of General Purposes Convocation of Supreme Grand Chapter, 12 November 2008, Report of the Committee of General Purposes Masonic Charities: Grand Charity Masonic Charities: Masonic Samaritan Fund Masonic Charities: RMBI Masonic Charities: RMTGB Remember Now A Freemason is recommended seriously to contemplate the Sacred Volume which is better known to us as the Holy Bible but although that book lies open all the time that the lodge is open, very little of it is actually read aloud during our ceremonies. One passage, however, is used in a number of lodges to add weight to the teachings particularly of the Third Degree and that is the twelfth chapter of the Old Testament book called ‘Ecclesiastes or The Preacher.’ The author of this book is not known. It has always been attributed to King Solomon because it is so obviously the work of a man of wisdom, one who describes himself as a king and as a son of David; Solomon is the only ...   Issue 47, Winter 2008/9 © Grand Lodge Publications Ltd 1997-2010