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What
do masons do?
All
masons belong to a lodge. Our lodge meets monthly between
September and
May, always on the second Tuesday. A typical programme for
the evening
will be:
The Lodge
Meeting Part 1 -
the Meeting itself
- The business section:
minutes of the previous
meeting, correspondence, news of absent/sick members or
their families,
financial deliberations (which charities
to
support, etc)
- The ceremonial
section: New members are admitted
through a series of what can best be described as
one-act dramas.
Members of the lodge learn their parts and rehearse
beforehand, while
the new member has a mentor to guide him through the
ceremony. Each
ceremony has, as a central theme, an obligation, and
collectively
embraces the duties of service to the Craft and
to our fellows in the world at large. Many
masons regard this thespian side of the meetings as one
of masonry's
great attractions, while others prefer to take a more
passive role -
supporting by their presence rather than learning lines.
Much of the
ceremonial is symbolic, and many members take pleasure
in finding out
about and investigating this symbolism.
The
Lodge Meeting Part 2 - the After-proceedings
- Between the meeting and dinner, there is time to meet
the other members of the lodge over a drink in the bar.
- Finally, there is a formal dinner, ending with toasts
and short speeches.
Social
events
- Sometimes, the dinner is non-masonic, when members
are free to invite any guests of their choosing.
- In the autumn, there is frequently a 'Ladies' Night',
taking the form of a dinner-dance at a local venue.
- There is an annual lunch each summer for the lodge's
widows.
- There is a club (the Acorn Club) for older masons,
their wives and widows from all
the lodges in Winchester, which organises outings,
coffee mornings,
lunch parties, etc.
- There are occasional golf tournaments, race evenings,
etc.
Details of all these activities may be
found under the 'Events' tab of the menu bar.
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