Cromwell and Rosslyn.

[j.sabourn]

#11.In present day freemasonry Fouro if he was a past Grand Master he would automatically carry that title in Freemasonry . If not a past Grand Master he.could be appointed that title as Past Grand Master for services rendered to Freemasonry. The word Past is automatic if have held that rank ,but can also be complimentary given by the Grand Master. I and others on site will hold past Grand rank in different Orders of Masonry and yet may not have officially carried out those duties under that rank. A bit like the General covered in medals but never seen a shot fired in anger. JS...

[j.sabourn]

In Australia every State has its own G.M. But comes under the Banner of the Grand Lodge of England and follows their ritual as close as dammit. We also have Scottish Lodges who follow the Grand Lodge of Scotland whose rituals are slightly different but both Grand Lodges mix freely. Any Freemason is welcome in any Freemasons Lodge of whatever hue . The G.L. Of Scotland is older than the G.L. Of England . Seniority as regards power does not exist in freemasonry as the basic rule in any Lodge is that all members are equal and any sea lawyers wanting to cause mischief or insulting behaviour will be expected to leave the room. Anyone bringing ill repute on the order whatever it is stands to be expelled . The indivdual Lodge is ruled by the master of the Lodge for one year ,then has to be reinstalled or replaced by another . The G.M.is the factory manager so to speak and in Western Australia used to be about 200 lodges which came under his control to make sure they were run correctly during his 3 years tenure of Grand Master. Seniority as regards Grand Lodges does not arise , every Grand Lodge is responsible for itself through the good graces of its Grand Master. Cheers JS...
I was at a meeting of Preceptory last night which is what this post was originally about , there are 2 degrees in this order . The Temple Degree and the Malta Degree these are part of the 33 degrees. The master of these Lodges carry the title of preceptor and prior and also get the Past title on relinquishing that seat. So in that particular order would be PEP , again not short for Pepsi , but past eminent preceptor. Could go on about other orders also , but just trying to emphasise the wide scope one has to go through to obtain the magic 33 which very few have. The Lodges that the general public and the media talk about doesn’t get past the 3 degrees of freemasonry and rarely past the first degree , and even that has a lot of nonsense about it , and people actually take that as true. Cheers JS
#15 Lewis I am also a past master of a Lodge and have the title P.M. which is not Prime Minister , and the same as your Dad will have had similar experiences . There will however be many aspects of freemasonry that you unless are a Freemason yourself will not know of. I only put on here which is public knowledge and can be found in public records unless of course the media has had cause to get their sticky fingers involved .most misinterpretations of freemasonry started are mainly by the media who make things up as they go along. Even a Freemason himself will only have the knowledge of the Craft as to the position he has reached , and will be barred from such knowledge until he attains that degree. There are 33 degrees in freemasonry , how many did your father have, ? Cheers JS

[Des Taff Jenkins]

Hi Lewis.
We Welsh are a special case, we fit in where we can., usually under a cloak of anonymity
Des

[Keith at Tregenna]

History of The Barry Lodge.
Added as there appears to be some interest:

History | Barry Masonic Lodge

[j.sabourn]

There are Lodges all over the world. Freemasonry is universal and not the personal ownership of any country or creed . If you don’t accept that then your knowledge of freemasonry needs brushing up on. JS

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#16.. Only one thing wrong their Lewis your well over 18. JS

[happy daze john in oz]

We have a local lodge close to where we live.
I know one of the seniors there and he has on a number of times attempted to assist the local Community Health Center with some of their projects.
But as he told me the interest in Masonary is in decline and raising funds is now a major problem for them.
He is not sure how other parts of the country are being effected.

[j.sabourn]

Very true John and the present medical problem has not helped matters with the loss of members . I know of 5 close ones who succumbed much before their time and sorely missed and there are many more. In WA we seem to have got away with much less heartbreak than the other parts of Australia and have no complaints of how it has been managed by those who are responsible for such. Freemasonry is about the oldest charitable organisation worldwide and would make your eyes water if you knew of the amounts passed to charity even from W.A.. The USA They give even a lot more and nearly all their children’s hospitals rely on their contributions . Cheers JS.

[Tony Taylor]

So the Grand Lodge of Scotland is the most senior order of freemasons followed by the Irish Grand Lodge so that would make the English lodges No3 in the pecking order. Were do the Welsh fit in as in being Druids ? I always thought (pardon my ignorance)there was a connection between the two.
From one sea lawyer to another with all due respect it is a subject I am genuinely curious about.
Let's face it with a name like Lewis I am bound to be curious.

you should join Lewis, then all will be revealed

[j.sabourn]

Your the closest Tony you can propose him . JS

[j.sabourn]

Different things for different people. Is certainly not there for monetary gain. The only thing I have ever taken out of it is satisfaction of helping other less fortunate people, and knowing other like minded people. However this I can see will be coming to an end due to circumstance beyond my control due to ripeness of age recently discussed . The charity work will continue as a lot of this is private and outside Masonic realms . I feel sorry for those who don’t have any feelings in that line of life, and are put off by misplaced ideas planted by people who know very little on the Masonic attributes. Cheers JS.