COMMUNICATION CATCH-UP It’s easy to be nice

Due to the change in Freemason’s printing schedule as highlighted in the Editorial, this issue recaps the December and March Communications.

December Communication

I’m referring to words and actions which do not occur as frequently today and which still rankle by their absence.

Past Grand Masters, Brethren, I thank you for attending our December communication, and, as always, I welcome our Past Grand Masters and I thank them all for their ongoing and much appreciated guidance and support.

You remember them – grace, manners, civility, courtesy.

For example, grace is something you would think of as belonging to an older era, when people were automatically polite, when you wrote letters by hand, ladies and gentlemen were easily recognised, being kind and a willingness to help others.

I also welcome our Entered Apprentices, our Fellowcrafts, our Worshipful Masters and, of course, our Lodge Secretaries who are in attendance here tonight. To all those that are here by way of our live streaming facility, I thank you for making the effort to be with us tonight at our last Grand Communication for 2022.

Manners of course were automatic with respect given to elders, not interrupting when someone else was talking, thanking people for gifts or assistance, giving up your seat in the tram or bus and even holding the door open.

Past Grand Masters, Brethren, over the past 12 months we have witnessed one of the busiest and membership­ sensitive times in recent years. Like you, I have

These actions could also be consistent with the words ‘courtesy’ and ‘civility’ which was part of the era when children were taught what was considered the correct thing to do.

People say to me that the world has progressed since then and we must adjust to modern times and methods. But I wonder whether we should.

Our Next Communication

We don’t listen anymore and it is becoming an endangered skill. We talk to, or at, each other but not with each other; that’s when there is a break in the mobile

The next Grand Lodge Quarterly Communication and dinner will be held at the Sydney Masonic Centre on WEDNESDAY 14 June 2023 at 7:30pm made it my business to promote our Craft at every opportunity and, I am pleased to say, the rewards for our efforts are evident. The numbers of men joining our wonderful Craft are testimony to the hard work and common­ sense approach that we have all taken during what has been a very busy and exciting year, a year where we have finally seen encouraging signs of membership growth within our jurisdiction.

The Communication is open to all members of Grand Lodge, which includes all Master Masons. Other brethren are invited to attend as observers.

We stand in good stead, but we must not rest on our laurels. Over the past couple of years we have introduced new technology. I understand that sometimes this hasn’t been easy as we learn and adapt to a new way of doing things.

Those involved in our technology upgrade are trying to cram the technological growth of the past ten years into just two years, and we are no doubt playing serious catch­up. It is a fact of modern life that for many reasons business and organisational practices and structures continue to change and evolve. There is no doubt that if we don’t move forward with the rest of society we will be left in the past. We have no choice, and we have an obligation to our future membership to keep pace with what is now an ever­changing society.

I also note that some of our sister jurisdictions have identified shortcomings in their communication and data base systems. They are now following our lead and as our technology improves, we will all become more accessible and relevant to our younger brethren.

Brethren, I encourage you to involve our younger members when and where you can. Their skill and ideas are valuable and will help us all as we move into and even help create the future.

Over the next few years there will be practices and even constitutional changes when necessary that will need to take place in order for us to use the amazing technology becoming available to us. I am excited that you all will be a part of and benefit from these changes when they are presented to you for your consideration.

Brethren, the future is in our hands, and we must not let it slip through our fingers.

As I move throughout the jurisdiction, I am constantly reminded of why we are all here. Yes, it’s true that we are an organisation that does great charity work: the Grand Masters Disaster Relief fund, Masonicare (our Grand Charity) and of course, the efforts of almost every lodge in our jurisdiction are just a few excellent examples of that, but that’s not all we do. We are also a brotherhood that prides itself on its moral guidance and its ability to lend a helping hand to someone in need.

During these times of great disaster …fire, drought, Covid 19 and floods that have swept through our jurisdiction over the past four years or so, our message has always been the same: ‘Are you OK, mate?’ Brethren, that is who we are and it is that attitude that holds more sway today than just about any time in our history.

Communities and brethren are suffering and in a time when mental health is a real issue we have really stood up. I am so proud of you all. I see it wherever I go, the smiles and relief on the faces of the brethren, their families and the local community, whether we are donating funds to those that are struggling, making a call to a mate who has just had three foot of water go through his property, or just getting back to lodge and spending some special time with our mates and our families. We are relevant and we provide one of the most important and necessary functions in our society.

We were honoured to be invited to the consecration of the new Lodge Myall 1058 in Tea Gardens, and we didn’t just watch. The entire team and the brethren of Lodge Myall involved themselves in the Consecration ceremony and the Deputy Grand Master occupied the chair for their very first Installation ceremony.

I thank our museum curator RW Bro Chris Craven and all the volunteers who helped make this weekend such a success.