Appendix 3 – Notes regarding Masonic Toasts at the Festive Board

Toast Notes

The first toast is the ‘Loyal Toast’ and is to ‘The King’

The second toast is to ‘All Heads of State who Protect Masonry’

The third toast is to “The Most Worshipful Grand Master”

The fourth toast is to

“The Right Worshipful Deputy Grand Master, the Right Worshipful Assistant Grand Masters, and the rest of the Grand Officers Present and Past”

The fifth toast may be given by the Senior Warden and is to

“The Right Worshipful Provincial Grand Master”

The sixth toast may be given by the Junior Warden and is to

“The Deputy Provincial Grand Master, The Assistant Provincial Grand Masters, and the rest of the Provincial Grand Officers Present and Past.”

It is never ‘His Majesty the King’ unless he is present.

There is no Reply to this toast.

There is no objections to the first and second toast being taken concurrently, whilst the Brethren are still standing, but they must be separate and not coupled together.

There is no reply to this toast unless the Grand Master is Present.

There is no reply to this toast unless you have a senior Grand Officer present who may wish to respond referring specifically to an event of Grand Lodge, if not already covered in the meeting.

There will be no reply to this toast unless the Provincial Grand Master is present when you will invite him to reply.

If the Provincial Grand Master is present, there should be no reply to the previous toast or the next toast to ‘Officers of Provincial Grand Lodge’.

There is not normally a reply to this toast, however if the Deputy Provincial Grand Master or Assistant Grand Master is present, then he will decide whether to respond. If a Brother is named in the toast and decides to respond, there should be no response to any previous toast.

The toast to the Worshipful Master

In Valencia it is usually proposed by the Immediate Past Master, but others can propose this toast if it is considered appropriate.

As Worshipful Master, you will be invited to respond to the toast. Your reply should be short and carefully chosen, e.g. taking the opportunity of thanking all who assisted you in the ceremony; making a short commercial about up and coming charity events, Lodge social, or your planned Ladies’ Night. It might be worth mentioning at this point you should not ‘fire off” all your shots in one response, you will have to speak several times during your year, especially the night of your Installation. We often hear a new Worshipful Master give one particularly good speech and then have little or nothing to say on subsequence occasions. Page 36 |of 50

1. On the occasion that the Lodge has an Initiate, this toast is usually given by his Proposer or Seconder, and in many lodges is accompanied by the Initiates song, the Masonic Chain or other explanation of the proceeding in the ceremony. Your Director of Ceremonies and the custom and practice of the Lodge will guide you on this toast. The Initiate will be invited to respond to the toast, here either you, or his sponsors should assist him with a short speech. It is not necessary for him to try and give a full preamble, it is sufficient for him to say Worshipful Master and Brethren and extend his thanks.

2. The toast to the Visitors in most Lodges in Valencia is given by the Junior Warden. Again, he must be briefed to keep it short to the point, and careful to avoid all refence to Masonic ritual, doubtful and suggestive stories, particularly on the occasion that Ladies have been invited to dine or a White table when nonMasonic guest may be in attendance. There is normally a response by a visiting Brother, who has been invited to speak on behalf of the visitors. It is good practice for your Junior Warden to make the request in advance of the meeting, certainly prior to the commencement of the meeting. Putting a Brother ‘on the spot’ as he enters the dining room must be avoided.

3. The toast to Absent Brethren is normally given by the Worshipful Master but may be given by the Almoner or other Brother as appropriate. Remember there is no such toast as the “Nine O’clock Toast” The correct title is “Toast to Absent Brethren” There is nothing to prevent the Brethren remembering absent Brethren at nine O’clock or when the hands of the clock are at the square. (This is traditional but remember many Lodges in Valencia and other parts of the world meet during the day or have disbursed before nine O’clock). This toast must not be given unless the “Loyal Toast” and the “Toast to Heads of State” have been honoured. The Brother making the toast may simply say “Brethren, be upstanding and let us remember ‘Absent Brethren” (or similar words) the response is “Absent Brethren.”

4. The Tyler's toast is the final toast which draws the proceeding of the Festive board to a close.

A final note: A Toast is a Toast

Remember a toast by nature is “Well Wishing” and does not require embellishing in any way, the term ‘Bumper’ ‘Rousing’ or ‘Big’ should never be used.

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Appendix 4 – Notes for the Junior Warden

You should now be on top of the Master’s work and ideally should be in a position to conduct a First Degree Ceremony. The more you learn now the easier it will be when you get to the Chair. Try and make an advancement in Masonic knowledge every day. This may seem impossible but if you have ‘The Book’ with you at all times it’s surprising just what you can learn in five minutes every day.

One part of the job which seems to come as a shock may be the ‘proving of visitors’ and you should be proficient in it. It is much better to report to the Director of Ceremonies ‘I have Proved all the visitors’ than be asked and look shocked.

Procedure of Proving a Visitor

Should a visitor arrive unannounced, or unknown to a Lodge member who can vouch for him, he must be ‘Proved’ to ensure he is a Mason, which is one of the important duties of the Junior Warden. The procedure is already known to you, as you will have experienced it during the ceremony of each of your craft degrees,

Here is an aide memoir to help you;

 Take the visitor to a quiet area away from other visitors and members.

 Ask the name, rank and Lodge of the Brother.

 Ask him to advance to you as a Mason.

 Ask him to show you the sign in the First Degree, and to what it alludes.

 Ask him to provide the Grip of the degree.

 This Grip demands a word.

 Whence was the word derived?

 The import of the word?

The sequence should be repeated for each degree the visitor claims to hold.

A Master Mason should also be in possession of his Grand Lodge Certificate, as further proof.

In the event that the visitor is a Past Master, you should request the assistance of a senior Past Master to assist you.

‘Call On’ and ‘Call Off’

You should also learn how to call ‘On’ and ‘Off’, which is another item that the Wardens tend to overlook, until the night in question when the Master is presented with a blank look. Consult the Valencia Ritual Book, pages 36 and 37 of the Third Edition 2022.

You may also be responsible for a toast at the Festive Board, so prepare something and practice it. Try and visit other Lodges when you can. This will get you known and will ensure that Brethren from other Lodges get to know you. It is really nice to meet Brethren in the same position, so that you can progress together and make lasting friendships. It also ensures you will have a full house at your Installation.

Toast to the Visitors:

The Toast to the visitors is often delivered by the Junior Warden. The preparation for this role is easily overlooked in a Lodge of Instruction which focuses on ritual. Lodges can often be rated by those who visit on numerous points. Three of the most prevalent of these points are

 The welcome received on arrival;

 The quality of ritual in the Temple;

 The Toast to the visitors at the Festive Board. Striking a balance between bonhomie and formality is key to providing visitors with a lasting positive impression of their visit. By ensuring the key elements to the Toast to the visitors are present, your guests will end their visit with a smile, and will share their experience with other Brethren, affirming your Lodge’s welcoming reputation.

If you’re experience in proposing a toast is limited, or you want to know what is, and is not, acceptable, the Director of Ceremonies will have a clear understanding of how a Toast can be built.

 You could canvass the Brethren on the best Toasts they have experienced as visitors, and at their own Festive Board.

 Define the elements of the Toast that make it effective.

 Now define a list relevant to your Lodge, this could look like: o Make a note of how much we appreciate and value Masonic visitors o Do not tell jokes unless this is requested by the Director of Ceremonies o Find a hook to base the speech upon o Make a personal link to the Brother responding to the Toast (i.e. their Lodge, Masonic role etc.) o End the Toast by encouraging the visitors to return.

It is also worth finding a hook upon which the speech can be based. This may be a reference to a famous Mason, a local issue, or current piece of news (keep it noncontentious), or a quotation. Some of the Brethren may be asked to prepare a mock Toast to the visitors to deliver at the next Lodge of Instruction which can be critiqued by the Brethren ensuring the critique begins with positives and highlights only one or two 'even better if..'