Interviews with new Masters
W.Bro Mark De Jesus, Eden Lodge
Q: Where were you born?
A: I was born in Quezon City, Philippines fortysomething years ago.
Q: Can you tell us about your father?
A: My dad was a Chemical Engineer by profession and a businessman. He traded raw cotton and is now retired at 82-years-old.
Q: Do you have a family history of Freemasonry?
A. Yes, my father is a Freemason. He was Initiated in the Craft sometime in the 70s and became the Master of his Lodge, the Capitol City Lodge No.174, in 1982. He is a Past District Grand Lecturer. He is also 32nd degree Scottish Rite Mason, and a member of the Shriners, the social side of which he enjoys very much.
Q: Do you have any brothers or sisters?
A: I am the youngest of three boys and two girls and for now I’m the only Mason amongst my siblings, one of whom will be shortly joining. My brother-in-law was recently raised to the 3rd Degree in November 2022.
Q: Where did you go to school?
A: I attended primary and secondary school at the Claret School of Quezon City, which is an exclusive boys school in Manila run by the Claretian Missionary Order. I finished a Bachelor of Arts in Humanities and a Master of Science in Management at the University of Asia in the Pacific. I also completed a Post Graduate Diploma of Business Administration at the Auckland Institute of Studies.
Q: Did you attain any academic achievements?
A: When I graduated with my Master’s degree, I received the Best Business Academe Partnership Project Award under the Human Resources Track, which is equivalent to a best thesis award. I also received an Academic Excellence Award during my studies at the Auckland Institute of Studies.
Q: When did you come to New Zealand?
A: I came to New Zealand about six years ago in order to study, and upon completion I became a Resident. I was particularly attracted by the lush green environment and laid-back life here.
Q: What did you pursue in your career?
A: I commenced my career upon completion of my Master’s Degree in Management and was then hired by the University to teach various management courses in the Graduate Management program for the next three years.
My next job was Senior Segment Marketing Manager in a telecoms company. After a couple of years there I decided to establish my own business, which was a call centre service. Four years later I decided to return to corporate and I was re-employed by the same company as previous.
In 2016 I worked as an Infrastructure Manager at Glory League Stats Ltd, a New Zealand-based sports technology company developing software for amateur basketball.
Q: Are you married?
A: Just recently married last November 2022 in Queenstown.
Q: Are you interested in sports?
A: I was mainly athletics-inclined in my early years of school. Upon finishing my elementary education, I received an athletics award, for being part of the school’s football varsity team and for being able to simultaneously maintain good academic scores. I’ve also enjoyed golf since I was 14-years-old, and I’m just getting serious about it again. I also play the piano and like DIY crafts.
Q: What is your Masonic career?
A: I was Initiated in 2018 at the Eden Lodge No.1530. I am also active in the Royal Arch Chapter sitting as the 3rd Principal, as well as being a member of the Kintore Sovereign Chapter Princes Rose Croix No.51.
Page 4 Periodical of the District Grand Lodge of North Island, New Zealand
W. Bro Steven Elliot of Aorangi Lodge No 2300, continues the interviews of the new Masters, on behalf of the District. If you are going into the chair soon, your turn will come.
Q: How did you come to join Freemasons?
A: I have always been interested in Freemasonry as I was exposed to it through my dad. When he visited me in New Zealand in 2016 he took the opportunity of visiting several lodges and met some of the brethren. W.Bro Gol Custodio eventually invited me to attend the Eden Lodge’s harmony night. My good friend and former classmate at the Auckland Institute of Studies, W Bro Jon Mendoza was also there and was thinking of joining the Eden Lodge as a joining member - the rest was history.
Q: What keeps you in the Craft?
A: I like the ritual work, not to mention being with my brothers and getting to meet other Freemasons.
Q: What’s the best book you ever read?
A: I like books on strategy, my favourites being The Art of War by Sun Tsu, and the Prince, by Machiavelli.
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A copy of the latest update pages from the Freemasons Foundation
District Grand Lodge Ladies Festival
MARCH MEETING OF THE SIR DONALD MCLEAN LODGE No.1646
W.Bro Bob McKillop Date: 18 March 2023
In accordance with the new schedule of meetings as a peripatetic lodge, the Sir Donald McLean Lodge No.1646 (SDM) planned to visit Napier during the weekend 10-12 March 2023. The District Grand Master decided to replace one of the District Grand Lodge Communications with a Ladies Festival and it seemed a very practical solution to combine the two events.
The SDM planning was already underway and the programme for the weekend was left in the hands of W.Bro and Mrs D J M Miller and W Bro and Mrs M J Jensen. Recognising that much was to be gained and learned by letting the ladies arrange to programme, John, Yvonne, Michael, and Julie became motivated little knowing that the weather was to become an important matter as Cyclone Gabrielle worked its way out of the tropics towards the East coast of the North Island.
Twenty-eight brethren and ladies made their way to Napier on Friday 10 March 2023; some had found it necessary to fly to the Hawkes Bay because the Napier-Taupo Road among others was not able to be used. Those coming from South were able to use both State Highway 2 and the alternate inland route by State Highway 50, both of which showed all the signs of the flood damage and slips that had caused such real problems elsewhere. The weekend was based on the East Pier Hotel on the waterfront in Port Arhuriri.
Friday evening saw everyone foregather in the East Pier Hotel for a meet and greet and on this occasion as the majority were visiting from out-of-town, it was well subscribed and a great opportunity to get acquainted or reacquainted as the case may be. A very good range of finger food was supplied as part of the weekend cost.
Saturday morning, like Friday dawned bright and sunny! A cooked breakfast started proceedings and was followed by a formal meeting of the SDM Lodge No.1646. It was a predictably short affair with the tour bus scheduled to uplift everyone at 1015. Our driver Graeme took us first to the Faraday Museum of Technology in Faraday Street in Napier.
The Faraday Museum of Technology began in 1979 as the Hawke's Bay Museum of Technology. Several individuals discovered that a Fullagar Engine used by the Municipal Electrical Department was no longer needed and was destined for the scrap yard. Rather than seeing this happen, this group which was passionate about preserving this engine and many other items of technology, formed a Society. They initially based themselves at McLeod's Vineyard, but after a couple of years moved to a more-roomy site at the bottom of Milton Road, Napier. The word spread fast around the community that the group was looking for interesting items from previous decades and the collection grew rapidly. A museum of technology society was formed and many of those items formed the core of the collection that is on display today. The next move for the museum was to Faraday Street to where the centre is located today. It was renamed as The Faraday Centre in 1995 when it merged with the Hawke's Bay Cultural Trust. Faraday Street is named after the great 19th century scientist Michael Faraday who made significant discoveries in science, particularly in electricity generation.
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The Fullagar engine, made by the English Electric Company brought back memories of having worked for that company for John Miller.
Napier’s Faraday Centre houses one of the few remaining examples of a unique stage in the evolution of internal combustion engines. The Fullagar engine is basically a two-stroke diesel that has four cylinders, each housing a pair of opposing pistons linked by oblique rods. The object of the design was to provide a high power output (by the standards of 1912) in a compact space, ideal for marine use but also adaptable for use as generating plant. As far as we are aware, it is the only remaining example of a Fullagar engine of this particular specification and layout. Installed in Napier in 1925, it became relegated to back up duties once Napier was connected to the National Grid in the late 1920s but carried out these duties until 1970. It no longer runs due to absence of fuel supply and silencer. However it has been fitted with a friction drive, Perspex crankcase windows and internal lighting to enable the unique mechanism to be seen in motion.
But the museum was not just for the boys with a wide range of items from the past that held the attention of everyone, even those addicted to horse-riding!
The next stop was the St George Restaurant in Havelock North. We suspect that our driver was able to take us by a longer route to Havelock North via Fernhill and we were able to see the devastation to vineyards and orchards, the damage to the Napier Golf Club’s course, the rubbish stacked up on the roadside for collection and sadly the damage to the Silky Oak Chocolate Factory (which brought a tear to Michael Jensen’s eye as did the cost of his glass of Pinot Gris at lunch time!).
After lunch, a short bus trip through the newer parts of Havelock North to the Arataki Honey Company which has a very well developed visitor centre. We were well received and introduced to the complexities of running an apiary of considerable size. This is really a start to finish operation with hives distributed throughout the Hawkes Bay, as well as in two other sites in the North and South Islands. In addition to honey, they manufacture a wide range of cosmetics and other bee related products. It was a thoroughly informative and enjoyable visit that ended with a free sample to take home!
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[Text & photos from Faraday Museum of Technology website]
The next visit was to Te Mata Figgery on the main road between Hastings and Havelock North. The first part of this visit was afternoon tea, all pre-planned by Yvonne before we were taken in hand by Murray Douglas who with his wife established the orchards in 2007 or thereabouts. They grow 30 varieties of figs, although there are about 600 cultivars in the world. We were treated to a fascinating introduction to figs and the growing of this quite special fruit. In New Zealand they can only grow varieties which do not require pollination because it requires a very tiny wasp, not present here, for that.
Fig trees grow to full size in about six years and require quite savage pruning because the fruit only grows on new wood. They have a variety of products for sale in their shop; John Stewart’s wife Shirley went home with a whole tray of fresh figs – John hasn’t been the same since!
On Saturday evening we were able to have a pre-dinner drink outside the dining room in what could only be described as wonderful weather. We were able to see as many as five ships waiting to enter the port although the log ships did not have much cargo to uplift for obvious reasons. The evening meal was very enjoyable; the steak was particularly tender and as a served BBQ it was something of a success. Just two toasts to The King and to The Ladies with grateful thanks to Yvonne Miller and Julie Jensen for another well organised and thoroughly enjoyable weekend.
It is assumed that the story of the fruit cakes will be taken up by someone else, but there are now rumours that the District Grand Master is assessing the area in front of the EMC for a figgery and apiary as well as the appointment of a District Grand Figgiest and Apiarist [Russell Chilton? – Ed].
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Periodical of the District Grand Lodge of North Island, New Zealand
Nine Performance Anxiety Tips That Every Freemason Should Know
by W Bro Steven Elliott DSGW
It feels horrible to struggle with performance anxiety when you’re trying to do ritual. It can suck all the joy out of doing ritual.
The usual advice is that more practice will solve everything. But you’ve probably discovered that doesn’t always work. Know that performance anxiety is common and perfectly normal in active Freemasons. And that there are techniques which will improve things for you.
Here are nine quick and simple tips that you can use straight away.
1) Breathe
When you feel nervous before a ceremony, one of the most helpful things you can do is to consciously take a slow, deep breath. Then take a few more. It’s really as simple as that. But the benefits come when you get the details right, so let’s go through them quickly. Don’t worry – they’re not difficult.
The three key details to notice are as follows:
• Slow
• Deep
• Conscious
Slow means simply that you’re not rushing things. You don’t have to be aiming for the slowest breathing possible – it wants to be at a pace that’s comfortable for you.
Deep means that you want to get your belly involved rather than only breathing into your chest. This doesn’t mean that you’re only breathing from your belly. And it doesn’t mean that you’re trying to cram as much air into your lungs as possible. Keep your breathing smooth and easy rather than forcing it.
Conscious means that you keep your full attention on your breathing throughout. Be aware when you’re breathing in and when you’re breathing out. Notice how it feels. And don’t worry about whether you’re doing all this “correctly”. It’s possible to get better and better at this as you practice. But the most important thing is to start doing it with the intention to get the basics right.
As long as you have the right intention as you breathe, then it will give you a huge benefit. If you want to go on and improve the details later – then great.
The ideal way to make this type of breathing automatic is to mentally learn a quick pre-performance routine. As well as calming anxiety, this will also lead to better performances.
2) Choose your focus ahead of time
You probably know that to do ritual well, you need the ability to keep your concentration steady and in the right place. But you might not realise that a strong focus is equally effective at reducing performance anxiety. Trying not to think about something that’s worrying you is almost impossible. Instead, the key is to guide your focus towards something positive. If you do that successfully, then your thoughts will automatically move away from everything else.
The secret to making this work is preparation
Choose where you’re going to put your focus in advance, rather than hoping you’ll pick the right option when the time comes. That way, there’s no worry or doubt about whether you made the right choice - you’ll just be following orders. And practice hitting this target over a period of time. Until you automatically know where to aim without having to think about it.
That way, you reduce the mental effort you need in performing ritual, rather than making your mind work harder. This may not come easily at first. Over time, however, it will become more and more natural to constantly check whether your focus is in the right place.
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3) Remember that the physical effects are normal
When performance anxiety strikes, it can be tempting to think that there’s something wrong with you. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.
Your body’s response to pressure is something that has evolved over millions of years. It may not be the response you want, but it’s perfectly normal and healthy. You should be more worried if you didn’t react in that way. It would be an indication that something wasn’t working properly. Once you accept this, the game changes.
If you think that performance anxiety is a huge problem, and that you should be calm, then you can fall into a destructive spiral. Each time you try and calm yourself without success, it adds to your anxiety. It feeds off itself and just keeps getting worse.
NOW -
This isn’t going to make any nerves disappear. But the more that you accept how things are, the less those nerves will affect the presentation of your ritual performance.
You may even find that the strength of your performance anxiety decreases over time when you adopt this attitude. That would be a nice side-effect, though – it’s not guaranteed, and it’s not the point of the exercise.
4) Reframe any nerves as ‘excitement’
There are several different components to performance anxiety – some physical, and some mental. You probably notice the physical aspects more easily and pay less attention to how nerves affect your thinking. But it’s the mental side which often has the bigger impact.
Your body’s physical response when you’re nervous is very similar to when you’re excited. What’s different is the emotional component on top. Negative emotions for nerves, positive for excitement
This means that there are big improvements you can make without having to change your physical response at all. You just have to reframe any feeling of nerves as excitement.
Easier said than done, right? Actually, it’s easier than you might imagine.
Amazingly enough, you don’t have to get hung up on whether it is something you truly believe at the time. Just the act of thinking “I’m excited” to yourself has been shown to have a positive impact on performance.
5) Think about the candidate
Would you agree that your goal should be to give the candidate a great experience? I hope so.
But it’s all too easy instead to get caught up with thoughts about how YOU want things to go. Change your perspective so that you’re focused purely on giving the candidate an enjoyable experience. This is obviously good for the rest of the Brethren. But it’s going to help you too.
When you switch your focus to the candidate’s enjoyment, you’ll find this moves you from unhelpful thoughts that interfere with your own effort.
There’s no time to beat yourself up about past mistakes. No time to worry about what’s coming up next. To give them the best experience possible, you’ve got to leave that all behind. You’ve got to concentrate fully on what you’re saying right now.
6) Set realistic expectations
One of the reasons you get nervous is that you expect too much of yourself. You’re human. Demanding a perfect performance from yourself every time is not an achievable goal. It’s definitely not a helpful goal. If you set unreasonable targets for yourself, then it’s no surprise that you’re nervous about whether you’ll achieve them.
If you’re presenting a charge that you feel you’ve mastered, then just loosen up a bit. It’s fine if it’s not perfect – the odd slip won’t matter. If you loosen up, then you’ll feel less pressure – it will be more like fun. You’ll also probably speak better if you’re ok with occasional mistakes than if you’re set on avoiding them at all costs. When you’re not chasing the idea of perfection, you may find that you present that perfect performance after all
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If you’re giving a charge that’s really challenging, though, then it’s time to recalibrate your expectations. If something is way too hard for you, then expecting to present it brilliantly is unrealistic. In that case, maybe make your goal for success, just to get through it.
7) The brethren don’t pay as close attention to you as you think When you’re getting ready to walk up and perform, it can feel like the Brethren will be focusing on every word you say.
But the reality is very different.
Everyone’s thoughts tend to be heavily focused inward on themselves. Scientific studies show that, as a result, people inevitably overestimate the amount of attention that others pay to them. The phenomenon even has a name, it’s called the Spotlight Effect. And the research shows that this effect occurs just as much in performance situations as it does in everyday life.
For a surprisingly large part of your performance, many of the Brethren’s thoughts will be elsewhere. If something doesn’t quite go to plan, then most of the Brethren won’t even be aware of it.
8) Remember that the Brethren are on your side
Think about it: The brethren have come along to enjoy themselves.
They’re not secretly hoping for a poor performance just so that they can criticise the flaws later. They’re cheering you on. They want you to ‘produce the goods’.
In short, they’re on your side.
And this means that they’ll actively latch on to all the best moments in the ceremony. Simultaneously, their minds filter out as many of the less-polished moments as possible. They’re not genuinely interested in dwelling on those –either now or in the future.
You might be tempted to think that the Brethren will be judging you. Resist that temptation. Remember that they’ll applaud your successes and forgive you any slips.
9) Replace unhelpful thoughts
We all get unhelpful thoughts popping into our minds from time to time, and if you’re nervous about performing a charge, then you’ll probably get more of them.
That’s not actually a problem. It’s totally normal.
What IS a problem is wasting time holding onto those thoughts, rather than just letting them disappear as quickly as they arrive.
Luckily, there’s a simple way to get rid of unwanted thoughts. You simply replace them with something else. To make this easy and effective, you want to have an alternative thought prepared ahead of time. If you notice unhelpful thoughts running around in your head, then simply say to yourself, “It will be fine”.
You can repeat this phrase as many times as you need to. This works well because it’s always true, so you can always believe in it. The consequences may seem terrible at first glance whilst you’re in the grip of performance anxiety.
But when you pause and think about the bigger picture – you’ll discover that it always will be fine. Whatever the result of your delivery, life goes on pretty much unchanged afterwards, and the sun still comes up in the morning.
So there you go.
Nine quick, simple and practical things you can do to reduce performance anxiety whilst delivering charges. Don’t attempt them all straight away, though. If you try to remember too many different, unfamiliar things at once, then none of them will work very well.
Pick the one that appeals to you most and start with that. When it’s working reliably, then add in another. Eventually, you’ll be able to use all of them together. Add them all up and they should hugely increase your enjoyment of delivering charges.
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Showing Up
Why is there never enough time for all the things we intend to do? It seems that everyone I know is juggling work, footie games, family commitments, and grocery runs, lamenting the few number of hours in a day.
We’ve become preoccupied with efficiency, we get antsy in traffic, and we interrupt rare moments of quiet to run through to-do lists in our mind, or to just daydream. When we feel like time is scarce, we squander the moments we have dwelling on what we’ve lost.
“Saving time” often means neglecting the experiences that nourish us, or not contributing to something bigger than ourselves, or checking out from the present to worry about the future.
In Freemasonry, as in the rest of life itself, finding fulfilment requires us to slow down and participate in the moments we have at hand. Lodge meetings or other Masonic activities allow us a valuable diversion from our dayto-day stress.
We often have a chance to do other things, but those other things don’t at all have the structure or the intrinsic motivation of Freemasonry, and busy schedules full of competing priorities often squeeze the time we make available for them. It’s easy to make other choices, and then wonder, “Is it really worth it”? Is struggling with a full schedule really worth the risk of wasting time for things that don’t happen.
But some of us have come to realise that wasted time is frustrating.
Learning ritual gradually instils moral principles that perhaps we haven’t thought of for some time. A meditative diversion from the day’s other needs is all it takes.
Showing up makes more sense when you have the flexibility to scale back/re-arrange other plans as needed.
Truly, there are no virtue points awarded for being overly conservative. It’s OK to show up, support the Brethren and the Craft if but only once a month. If you send apologies, you may still remain in good standing in your Lodge, but attending Lodge isn’t time wasted if you participate in the Lodge’s Masonic activities.
You might find yourself with nothing to do, but at Lodge meetings, you’re more likely to find yourself in good company.
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Eden Lodge Charity Programme
The brethren of the Eden Lodge No.1530 conducted its two-part charity programme on 17th December last year. The first part was the giving out of school notebooks to the lower decile schools of South Auckland and the Working Bee Project where the brethren and their families assisted the schoolteachers and staff in cleaning Leabank Primary School during the Christmas school break.
A total of 1,300 3B1 notebooks were handed to the principals of Clayton Park School, Manurewa Central School, and Leabank Primary School. It is the Lodge’s hope that this gesture would help the children with their school activities and alleviate their parent’s school supply expenses. This project was started by W.Bro Pol Candia a few years back with donations only coming from the brethren of the Lodge. This time however, with the concerted effort of all the officers and members of the Lodge through fundraising activities, we were able to raise ample amount of funds to increase the number of purchased notebooks and more schools to cover.
Upon learning from the Principal of Leabank Primary that it was also the teacher’s responsibility to clean the school after the end of term 4, the Charity Steward W.Bro Jon Mendoza on behalf of the Lodge raised his hand to volunteer and assist. Thus, the second part of the Charity programme came into fruition, the working bee or an “operative masonry” activity if you will.
The working bee activity was a success as family members and brothers from other lodges came in to help. We brought in the manpower while the school provided the cleaning equipment and materials. We had fun while working and capped it off with light tea after work.
Moving forward, our goal is to be able to provide school bags and more school supplies to the students of these three schools. As for the working bee project, we aim to encourage not only more members of the Eden Lodge No.1530 but to open it to the District as well. This way, this simple cost-efficient yet impactful activity will be more fun and sustainable.
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Periodical of the District Grand Lodge of North Island, New Zealand
A near run thing at an initiation at Rodney Lodge
Lots of Lodges struggle these days getting new candidates, especially those in country areas. The Rodney Lodge is no exception. Prior to the Covid outbreak in 2020, The Rodney Lodge hadn’t had a new candidate in 15 years. Then finally the Lodge Initiated a new candidate then had to wait until 2022 to go through his Third Degree. Finally, Bro. Gareth Winslow completed his Third at our July meeting. We had proposed another candidate at our Installation in May, we were on a roll. While we could have done the new candidates Initiation in the July meeting, we didn’t think it fair to delay our Fellow Craft’s Third degree any longer.
Our new candidate came out of the blue about two months prior. When I took over as Master, I gave all our brethren a bit of a pep talk using the New Zealand Constitution’s saying Speak up for Freemasonry. While this is all well and good for those who are still working, many of our members are of an age where they rarely come into contact with people on a daily basis other than their Masonic brethren. While I’m also technically retired, I still run a small business where I still come into contact with younger men. I put together an information pack and took it with me in my car in the event of someone who might be interested. I could let them have the information then leave it up to them to make their own mind up.
On one such occasion, I handed an information pack to someone in a supplier’s company. Later he said while he was interested, he wasn’t in a position to join. I didn’t pursue it further. About eight months later he spoke to me one day when I was in the company getting some parts. He told me that a good friend of his was interested and could he meet me to discuss Freemasonry further. I arranged to meet him and his friend at a coffee shop and took W.Bro Tony Mansfield with me as one of the potential people lived in Howick, while the other lived on the North Shore. I thought to myself if they didn’t want to drive to Warkworth then they might join the Prince of Wales Lodge. The interview went reasonably well with Tony and I both agreeing that whatever happened at least we might get them into Freemasonry.
A month went by and the candidate on the North Shore said he would like to join the Rodney Lodge. We invited him to our festive board so other brethren of the Lodge could meet him. He afterwards filled out an application form then waited for the inevitable day of his Initiation. But things didn’t go too smoothly.
A week before his Initiation he flew to Australia for a conference and then onto Manila for another conference. I couldn’t get hold of him to see if he would be back in time for the meeting. On the Monday prior to our meeting on the Wednesday I finally contacted him; he was boarding a plane in Melbourne as his flights out of Manila had been delayed. On the Tuesday there was no contact. I thought maybe I should cancel the ceremony as we had several brethren from around Auckland coming to Warkworth to help with the ceremony, as with all country lodges we were short staffed, with brethren away for a variety of reasons. Then late afternoon on Wednesday just minutes away from cancelling the other brethren coming to Warkworth, I got a call from the candidate. The airline had lost his luggage, so he had no suit to wear, decent shoes, or white shirt. I asked him if he was still interested to which he replied he was. The race was on to get prepared. He had some black pants and a blue shirt; I had a black tie I could loan him. He went out and bought a white shirt and some decent black shoes. Unfortunately, the white shirt he bought was an Asian size and didn’t fit him. Christopher, the candidate, is a big, tall man.
We opened the Lodge and while we waited for the candidate to be prepared, I explained to the Lodge why he was dressed the way he was, they understood. The ceremony went well with brethren from The Duke of Albany Lodge, Waitemata Lodge, and Prince of Wales Lodge all helping to make the evening a success. We had visitors from as far afield as Canada, Opotiki, Mercer (not a odge but a member who travelled far to help out). As well as one of our members coming from Thames.
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While we had Christopher’s job description we didn’t really know a lot about him. These days we tend to take people on face value. Christopher, we later found out, had been in Manila as the Interfaith Ambassador and as a youth Ambassador for Peace. Where he represented the New Zealand Chapter of Universal Peace Federation. The Universal Peace Federation is an NGO working with the United Nations. The UPF has developed a strong track record of accomplishment. Their commitment to service, partnership, and cooperation are hallmarks of their work.
Finally, the following day his luggage was delivered to him, now he can wear his suit to meetings. Christopher is keen to visit, and you will see him around Auckland in the near future, you can’t miss him he is the tall gentleman standing next to me. Our Lodge has to get some candidates more my size.
So finally, in 2023 Christopher is now a Master Mason
In this ceremony for his Third Degree, we had visitors from England. Jim Whitlam, from the Lodge of Peace No.149 in Yorkshire, Gilbert Hawkins the Master of the Wellsford Lodge NZC, Dave Rodenburg Past Master of the Orewa Lodge NZC, W.Bro Barry Holland from the St George Lodge, W.Bro Robin Breddy from the Prince of Wales Lodge and all those brethren who helped make the evening a success for the Rodney Lodge and made Bro Christopher Bradley’s night.
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Periodical of the District Grand Lodge of North Island, New Zealand
Are you a tourist in the Craft?
W Bro Steven Elliott, DSGW
In reality, we live in the past. The things in our lives that we remember, that are not yet present, they are past.
The truth about the Craft in New Zealand today is that, at the moment anyway, its fate is unclear. We are all part of it, in fact, we’re paying for it, yet we’re allowing it to flounder. And we’re getting used to it in this condition!
Thoughts and behaviors that we think are determined by our own reasoning are actually shaped – and not always for our good – by people with whom we socially interact, even those who are not in our immediate circle of friends.
An overseas study involving more than 5,000 individuals showed that the ‘social cluster’ of relationships that forms the fabric of our life, profoundly influences our thinking and behavior. In other words, social ‘contagion’ occurs whereby our ‘norms’ are cemented in us through the influence of those around us.
Specifically, we are influenced not only by our friends, but also the friends of our friends!
It is understood that human behavior changes to adapt to the social atmosphere we inhabit. Whether we realise it or not, we are exposed to “social contagion” via the people with whom we interact – and since the people who are around those people influence them in turn, the friends of our friends likewise ultimately influence us. *
*The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives – Prof Nicholas Christakis, Yale University.
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(We got that expression from
We are driven by ideas and influences often outside of our awareness. Cultural and educational legacies are usually picked up through a type of osmosis not fully obvious.
The Competition For Your Attention
The competition for your attention is not the same as the desired outcome of advertising, in fact, quite the opposite. Would Freemasonry want to be in the ‘mainstream’? I think not, we are in a special category of our own, a long-time existence, not a ‘flash’ in the news. We only require proof of our existence, not hard news of it.
The idea that something intelligent and worth sharing would occur in the space of a few keystroke characters, no more than a text message, is highly unlikely. All media outlets are built on a business model. Each type of media is in competition with the other, therefore the content is ‘competitive’. Since the scale of that competition is determined by the readership, content itself takes a back seat. Content reflects negative value to our organization because its competitive nature is determined by other factors, mostly negative and not supporting of positive factors.
Public media seek ‘newsworthy’ stories – the existence of Freemasonry is not news – it’s been around for over 300 years! However, our public activities are news – in many cases.
The only thing that’s changed in modern times is the structure of analogue newspaper distribution, not specific readership. Whether distributed by internet or delivery-kid, news dispersion is the same. Once the news reaches the public, it’s original source generally remains unknown. That is due to the power of pure public relations, as a science. Public Relations practitioners are ethically bound against revealing the sources of any of their activities, or the methodologies of their dispersion – they must remain invisible and seamless.
So, will you be a tourist in the Craft - merely a ‘punch-line’ to the internet?
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“This may be good in theory, but it doesn’t work in practice”.
Plato).
Social Events - To have and to hold from this day forward?
The role of the Social Committee (which I hope you all know by now), is to try and provide/organise social functions that members of the District across the North Island would like to attend and support.
Brethren, there can be no doubt that English Freemasonry (along with many other communities) is suffering from a number of issues, namely (but not restricted to) a Covid lockdown hangover, the aftermath of flood damage of enormous proportions and the devastation Cyclone Gabrielle has left in its wake!
It does appear that there is little appetite for a large District organised function at the moment, however there is absolutely no reason why members of Lodges can't enjoy a slightly 'lower key' but full social life, organised at Lodge level, for the immediate and near future. Remember brethren, that socially successful lodges invariably have the support of wives/partners behind them and they organise functions which often involve all ages. We certainly need to involve ladies and younger family members more, if we are to ensure the number of our members doesn't keep falling. To successfully recruit a new member I would argue that it is often better to get his partner on side first! And what better way of doing that than by attending social activities that fulfil their needs?
Also, whilst we are charity based, not every social function HAS to be for the benefit of or to raise money for charity. Sometimes a gathering under the Masonic 'umbrella' can be for purely enjoying each other’s company but there is no doubt in my mind that Masonic social functions offer the greatest opportunity for recruiting new members. Having said that, we don't need the hard sell, just regular events that attract people from all walks of life and showing them (and us) a good time.
So having given some thought as to what might be possible at local level, I have suggested a few ideas below, as well as including what some lodges have organised or are preparing for the near future. Why don't lodges nominate a couple of brethren to organise a local social event, maybe in collusion with another nearby lodge or with one which they have historical involvement? That way the number of events will be more plentiful to enable those who can't make some, to be able to attend others. In no particular order (and by no means exhaustive):
1. Casual social
WM (or other member of the Lodge) chooses a day, maybe 10-14 days hence, midweek, say Thursday or even Friday, when he and his wife/partner will be at a certain venue (chosen and named by him) between certain times (say 7pm to 9.30pm) and request the pleasure of the company of as many members and their partners who can make it. Cost is at own expense so need not be prohibitive. It also gives people notice for babysitters where necessary and the relative short time of the function will potentially keep to a minimum, the childcare costs. Not all members will be able to get to all events but if they happen frequently enough, everyone should be able to make one or two at some time. And maybe, if the children are a little older, they may be able to accompany their parents? It may even be that if a member has a friend or a perspective candidate, ideal opportunity to invite them along. Consider brethren that ladies are a key part of our organisation. (The Duke of Albany Lodge, for example, often all meet at the RSA in Helensville on a Friday with their wives and have a social evening together.)
2. BBQ
At a private venue or public venue such as the reserve at Long Bay, where the Lodge members, their family (including children and grandparents!) and friends meet up at a predetermined time on the weekend say Saturday afternoon, for a couple of hours get together. St. George Lodge used to do this once a year in February and were often joined by members, friends and family of other Lodges, particularly Remuera. We had beach games of all sorts which most people were able to join in, particularly good for the kids! On the last occasion before Covid lockdowns the BBQ cost $10 per adult, children free and even at that price there was a profit of about $70 which was donated to charity. All it takes is the will, the commitment and a bit of effort by all BUT, these events MUST be supported when people have taken the trouble to organise them! St. George used to select a member and partner to coordinate each year and that proved very successful.
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3. Cinema night.
Why not look at hiring a cinema for an evening (it's not as expensive as you might think, particularly the small cinemas dotted around in cities). Or organise a group attendance to a cinema followed or preceded by refreshments/meal.
4. Ten Pin Bowling
An activity that people of every demographic can join in with. Great family/friends involvement and relatively inexpensive. A very good activity in which all ages can indulge. Alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages and fast food are almost always available so hopefully, something for everyone?
5.Roller Blading
Perhaps more for the younger generation? Equal enjoyment can be had by just watching and it is still an activity that multi generations can attend. Eating, drinking and socialising can all be included.
6. Whisky Tasting
Excellent for those who enjoy their whisky but still a good idea for a social event when others attending can drink alternatives. There are a number of companies that organise and run such events. Or organise an informal one yourself (and don't forget to invite us!). The Prince of Wales Lodge has held a whisky tasting event at a lodge meeting recently which is a great way of ensuring good attendance by members of other lodges around the District.
7. Quiz Night at local pub/club
Make up one or several teams at a local (or chosen) pub quiz. Very involving, cross generational and not necessarily expensive night out. Or arrange a Lodge quiz and invite other lodges/charity organisations/businesses to enter a team(s). Good community project and involvement, with opportunity to raise funds (if desired) for a chosen good cause. I often find wives/partners are very happy to help with/organise refreshments and to be involved.
8. Monday Night is Lodge Night
At St. George Lodge I am trying to encourage all the members to put Monday night aside as 'lodge business', so that it becomes habit forming to be out on a Monday night and if we don't have a meeting, or a rehearsal, or an LOI then we just meet up for a social hour at a locally chosen hostelry, communicated through our Lodge WhatsApp Group. At the time of writing we have just enjoyed an hour rehearsal followed by a very convivial time at the Good Home in Birkenhead where Monday night is "$20 rib night"! It is hoped that for those members who don't have childcare issues that wives/partners will start to join us too!
As mentioned brethren, the items above are not exhaustive but are included to try to stimulate thought and encourage lodges to get together, socially. The District Social Committee would welcome suggestions for District based activities and as soon as there is a groundswell for organised events again, we would be happy to oblige.
Being considered at the moment is a Ladies Day, perhaps to somewhere like Waiheke Island (I know it's in Auckland, but events need to be held where the biggest attendance is likely to occur for now!) and a family Christmas gathering is also being considered but if any of you have any suggestions for social events we would be happy to consider any ideas you may have. Please let us know!
It will be great to get together socially as a District again and that time will come but for now, why don't you think about how you can socialise with others, enjoying a good time? If there is something you do that you find enjoyable, how about inviting others, it could catch on! I look forward to socialising with you all in the not too distant future.
Remember always wear a smile, that way people will be wondering what you've been up to!
Barry Holland - Chair District Social Committee
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Opotiki Freemasons Gisborne flood donations report. On behalf of the Opotiki Freemasons I wish to thank all you wonderful, generous people of Opotiki for your donations to our Gisborne Flood victim’s appeal.
Items such as clothing for all ages and genders, nonperishable foods, cooking utensils, boots and hats etc. etc. made for a van load of goods.
Fellow Mason John Walworth and myself hired a van from our local motor company Magnus Lennie where Paul, Gerry and the team removed the seats, filled it with fuel and gave it a wash before we loaded up and headed to Gisborne. Sincere thanks to Magnus Lennie for their willingness to be part of our enterprise for which we are very grateful.
We were met at the Gisborne Salvation Army church and collection centre by fellows Masons from Gisborne’s Turanganui Lodge where we unloaded the goods to the very appreciative volunteers at the Church.
They then provided us with a hot lunch before John and I headed back to Opotiki with several delays due to the state of the roads etc
Again many thanks to all the generous people of Opotiki for your contributions where we were assured all items will be used by those in Tai Rawhiti who are in desperate need.
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Periodical of the District Grand Lodge of North Island, New Zealand
Ka kite ano Kerry Gardiner PM Opotiki Freemasons
Thank you to the District Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons
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Introducing the DGLNINZ Lodge Companion
THE CENTRE
DGLNINZ’s own social media space. Upload images, comment on posts or send messages to other brethren
DISTRICT NEWS
This is District’s space. Come here to see the latest news from the DGM or the DGLNINZ Executive.
FIND LODGES
Visiting an unfamiliar town or Lodge and need information or directions? Everything you need, including a map and a turn-by-turn guide to the Lodge can be found here.
CONTACTS
A list of current App users, Lodge friends and send them private messages.
RITUAL
Practice ritual at any time with the aid of your mobile phone. At the moment only the First Degree ritual is there – for obvious reasons....
NOTIFICATIONS
Check this repository for a history of notifications sent by the District to all users.
REALTIME CHAT
Join a Lodge chat room (visible to all users) or create a private chat room where you can send text messages and images to others in these rooms.
DGM MEDIA
Our District Grand Master is keen to broadcast regular video messages to the Brethren. This is where you will find them.
LODGE NOTICES
Your Lodge Secretary can post notices, summonses, and meeting minutes into your Lodge storage area. No more digging through emails.
EVENTS
Reserved for a special event that District may wish to advertise to the Brethren.
CALENDARS
This space is reserved for the various DGLNINZ meeting calendars and other representation information. A work in progress....
LISTEN
We will publish interesting audio content or perhaps Masonic lectures here. The possibilities are endless....
MORE...
Here you will find a place to remember Brethren who have recently passed to The Grand Lodge Above or visit a buy and sell marketplace. Perhaps you have a particular skill that may assist a Brother and wish to advertise it.
OTHER ORDERS
Need information about another Order? We have you covered.
BOOK
Intending to visit a Lodge and need to book a meal? Select the Lodge and the date you intend to visit, and Lodge Companion takes care of it for you. Still under test until we have contact information.
YOUR ACCOUNT
Register here as a Lodge Companion user. Your information is securely held on a private server located in Wellington.
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Mobile app for android and iPhone
IT’S ABOUT STAYING IN TOUCH...
What methods do we currently use to communicate with other Brethren?
When we are not at our various Lodge meetings most of us remain in touch to some extent with members of our own lodges, or with DGLNINZ officers and friends in other lodges using the following methods:
• Email
• Facebook
• WhatsApp
Email is by far the most common means of communicating these days, but unless one is superorganised the information or attachment that an email may contain soon becomes very difficult to find. Also, many of us prefer not to use a mobile phone for sending or receiving email.
Facebook has become ubiquitous as a means of sharing information (social media). The way most of us use Facebook however is limited to posting the occasional image or comment to a Facebook group representing our own lodge. How many of us search out or are members of more than a few DGLNINZ Lodge groups? Facebook users should be aware of its intrusive ability to monitor a user’s online activities for targeted advertising and other commercial purposes. WhatsApp is great as a mobile communications or chat tool BUT be aware that a user’s private information is held overseas, and is vulnerable to misuse. It is not really a multi-functional tool in the true sense.
What about our Lodge websites or the District website, are they not also a means of communication? Of course, but how many of us regularly visit our own lodge websites? Many sites have content that is months out of date and often they contain incorrect information. Our District website has had a recent update, and now we need to ask ourselves who the target audience is for our various sites. In many cases, a visitor to a website is a prospective member checking you out.
Isn’t Tessellated Tales also an efficient means of communicating with DGLNINZ Brethren? It sure is, and it is an important part of our overall strategy of ensuring that communications are targeted correctly. Tessellated Tales provides a creative outlet for DGLNINZ members who wish to share items of interest with other District Brethren.
INFORMATION IN THE PALM OF YOUR HAND
So where does the District App fit into the strategy?
Provided you carry a mobile phone, Lodge Companion is always in your hand. It will alert you to new messages or important notifications. It will allow you to chat with friends, upload photos, refer to documents, listen to Masonic Audio content, navigate to lodges, and refer to a wealth of user-generated material
Is Lodge Companion safe? Lodge Companion is probably safer in a cyber-security sense than other social media applications we use. We built it and we have full control of the server it runs on. The App server is SSL protected and runs on dedicated hardware in a residential situation in Wellington, i.e. it is not running in a leased, virtualised environment like most Lodge websites. Of course, this means if the power goes off then the server will go down.
Access to any information or documents on the server, including a user’s private details, e.g. telephone number etc. is password protected. Yes, it is theoretically possible that the server could be hacked, but if that were to happen it would not be the end of the world.
How do I get Lodge Companion, and then what do I do? It’s easy (and free), but you will need to be familiar with navigating the ‘App store’ on an iPhone, or the ‘Play store’ on an Android phone: Search for Lodge Companion – DGLNINZ
• Install the App (it may not work on really old phones)
• Swipe up to ‘MY ACCOUNT’ create an account. As it is our App you can be as truthful as you wish - just as long as we recognise you. Send an email to the District Grand Communications Officer (email address below) if you wish to use a pseudonym.
• Click ‘Yes’ to the enable notifications message.
Please forward any bugs or questions regarding the App or suggestions for content to:
dgco@freemasons.org.nz (W.Bro Andrew Vincent)
IMPORTANT: You will not have access to some App features until your registration and your membership has been verified on the backend server.
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Looking for Regalia
Contact the District Grand Secretary first, as there may be some second-hand regalia that will meet your needs from the store at Ellerslie Masonic Centre secretary@freemasons.org.nz
If you would like to contribute to the next issue of Tessellated tales, please email your article or photos to steveglew@xtra.co.nz before 15th June 2023
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