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.

Periodical of the District Grand Lodge of North Island, New Zealand

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

Periodical of the District Grand Lodge of North Island, New Zealand

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.

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.

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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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.

Thank you to the District Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons

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