A NEW LODGE
By VW BRO CHRISTOPHER BLAXLAND-WALKER
Welcome to a newcomer On 20 August 2016 The Prince Charles Edward Stuart Lodge No 1745 was consecrated by the Grand Master MW Bro James Melville and the Grand Lodge Ceremonial Team. With trowel and level, plumb and square, Each stone is set exactly where The plan provides, the drawing shows And day-by-day, the Temple grows: The porch is finished, pillars placed The strands of net-work, interlaced The chambers furnished, pavement laid, The sacred vessels all displayed: The walls are standing, straight and true The roof is on, the labour through:
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– From The Work by Montford C Holley
s with Montford Holley’s temple (above), with this consecration our foundational labours are through. It is fitting then to reflect on how this new lodge came into being and some of its distinctive characteristics. Having a love of Scottish culture and history I have naturally been drawn to some of the more Scottish characteristics of
Freemasonry and, for some years, have nurtured the desire to form a lodge with a uniquely Scottish flair. Later, when I joined the Prince Charles Edward Stuart Sovereign Council of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite for Australia, I was inspired by its fraternal and convivial atmosphere and the decorum of its meetings. Many of its usages and customs are anchored in Scottish history and culture. I was so impressed by its meetings that I resolved to see something like it emulated in Craft Masonry. Happily I found common cause in this desire with my friend RW Bro Dominic De Candia (PJGW) and together we sought to bring the idea to fruition. Our initial vision for this new lodge quickly captured the imagination of a range of brethren and it was not long before we had assembled a diverse and talented foundation team. Our foundation The regalia of The Prince Charles Edward Stuart Lodge
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FREEMASON DECEMBER 2016
Members of the new lodge
membership includes Masons from different cultural and Masonic backgrounds, from different parts of NSW and Victoria, and with differing degrees of experience in the Craft. Given this diversity and the distances some of our members will travel, our lodge has decided to meet on the second Friday, five times per year, at the Sydney Masonic Centre. Another unique aspect is that we will be the first lodge to hold daylight meetings in the Centre. This arrangement means involvement in our lodge is unlikely to conflict with family engagements or other masonic commitments of members. This format, together with the diversity of our team, provides a healthy framework and foundation through which we can build a strong and enduring lodge with active members. The Prince Charles Edward Stuart Lodge offers a number of points of difference. We will use Scottish Craft rituals for our openings and closings; incorporating Scottish titles for our officers, and many aspects of the lodge work and at the festive-board will reflect the practices and customs of Scottish Masonry. Lodge members will be clothed in Scottish regalia, with aprons trimmed in the Black Stuart tartan to reflect the cultural ethos of the lodge and bring colour and difference to the meetings. These features will provide an avenue for members and visitors to experience Masonry familiar to them and decidedly different to emphasise quality of workmanship, conviviality, decorum and above all fraternity. The Festive Board or ‘Harmony’, as it’s called in Scottish Lodges, will have its own flavour, all toasts will be sung and there will be very few, if any, responses. So it is brethren that we give you ‘The Prince Charles Edward Stuart Lodge No 1745’. May she prosper, grow strong and return to Masonry a bounty of good works and fraternal love.