I always look forward to the Quarterly Communications of the United Grand Lodge of England. In this case, I knew our Grand Secretary Adrian Marsh was going to speak and that the Pro Grand Master Jonathan Spence would be presiding. I was also looking forward to seeing the new Grand Master Mason of Scotland Alexander Moncrieff on his first official visit after his investiture. I also noticed that amongst the foreign visitors was the charming Steven Adam Rubin, Grand Master of New York. Although I didn’t get a chance to talk to him.
I very much enjoyed the meeting and would like to share an observation I made. The Grand Stewards when walking in the procession, were perfectly in step, both in and out. Incidentally, Incidentally, I noticed the Past Grand Secretary David Staples was at the front and it was very good to see him there. I made the same observation with the Standard Bearers and, most especially, the Deputy Directors of Ceremonies – who were so spot on with their timing that it really stood out.
Musing on this I thought about how in many traditions the perfection of small actions is utilised to perfect the mind. We know that in the 18th century manners and gentlemanly conduct was seen as a means of self-cultivation, could it be that ritual performance had the same associations?
Portal
The Grand Secretary gave a brief presentation on the new UGLE Membership Portal which has been growing in popularity over the last few months as more and more members sign up. I like the system as it allows me to see all my meeting dates in one place and to keep all my details up to date with UGLE. Well, now it has a new feature that allows you add friends by scanning a QR code. This is a really good way to quickly exchange details with Brother Masons and also to see all the things they do. Immediately after the meeting people were talking about turning this into a game – UGLE Top Trumps. A prize for who can get the most members of Grand Lodge!
The Metropolitan Police
On a rather different note the Pro Grand Master thanked Shawn Butler and the rest of the communications team as to how they had managed the recent issue involving the Metropolitan Police who seem to have a bit of witch hunt going on whereby there are moves to ask all Freemasons to register their membership if in their employment. The communications team have indeed done a very good job dealing with all this. May I also suggest that our Grand Secretary Adrian March recently managed to do a fantastic job in what I saw as a very aggressive interview with the Times Radio.
My take on this is that its pure prejudice based on a complete misunderstanding of what Freemasonry is and the goals and purpose of our membership.
One Journey One Tie
I mentioned earlier on in this blog that in the 18th century manners were seen as part of your self-improvement and precision in dress and grooming were part of the civilisation of the mind. Not sure how well I am doing with this!
Well in this meeting the Pro Grand Master was also presented with the new One Journey Tie. The tie is a result of a competition that asked for designs focused on the unity between Craft and Royal Arch Masonry.
I approve of the message behind the time. I will leave you to judge if it looks good on me.
Important Note: These blog posts are just my thoughts and opinions, this is not a statement on behalf of any organisation.