Promoting the Fraternity across the World
Freemasonry consists of fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local fraternities of stonemasons, which from the end of the fourteenth century regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities and clients. The degrees of freemasonry retain the three grades of medieval craft guilds, those of Apprentice, Journeyman or fellow (now called Fellowcraft), and Master Mason. These are the degrees offered by Craft (or Blue Lodge) Freemasonry. Members of these organisations are known as Freemasons or Masons. There are additional degrees, which vary with locality and jurisdiction, and are usually administered by different bodies than the craft degrees.
The basic, local organisational unit of Freemasonry is the Lodge. The Lodges are usually supervised and governed at the regional level (usually coterminous with either a state, province, or national border) by a Grand Lodge or Grand Orient. There is no international, world-wide Grand Lodge that supervises all of Freemasonry; each Grand Lodge is independent, and they do not necessarily recognise each other as being legitimate.
The body of Freemasonry is comprised of many types of individuals whose Masonic pursuits vary according to that individual’s personality and interests. Freemasonry has been very aptly been compared to a complex tapestry composed of many colourful overlapping individual threads which taken as a whole form a larger picture.
Boston Women’s Aid is proud to have been awarded £4,000 through the Masonic Charitable Foundation’s Tercentenary Community Awards – £3 million was given to 300 charities across the country to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the MCF. BWA is one of six Lincolnshire charities to receive grants; the only one in Boston or South Holland.
Pythagoras was one of the greatest minds and philosophers of his time and his unquestionable influence can be felt even today in mathematics. It is believed that he was the first man who referred to himself as a “philosopher.” He was the founder of Pythagoreanism, a religious and political movement that appeared mainly in the big cities of Magna Grecia (today southern Italy).
A new and exciting exhibition opened in Leicester on Friday 6th October 2017, as local Freemasons marked the celebration of the 300th anniversary of the…
The Mark is a ceremony or degree [sometimes called the ‘friendly’ degree], conferrable today only to Master Masons and forms part of a hierarchical organization. In Craft Masonry it was quite a late innovation making its appearance during the mid-1700s. However we do know that Operative Masons, without any kind of ceremony, were taking marks 150 years before the Mark came into use as part of that particular ceremony.
The funding will provide London Fire Brigade with two extended height aerial vehicles. These appliances will be in addition to the extra resources for extended height aerial vehicles already requested by the Commissioner as part of a Mayoral review into the Brigade’s resources in July.
“Thanks go to the Brethren and Provinces for their continued generosity in helping those in the Caribbean in their time of distress. Ring-fenced donations via the Mark Benevolent Fund are now closed but you can still help by donating directly to the Shelterbox charity.” Darren Coleman – Charities Manager of The Mark Benevolent Fund
Charities today provide amazing opportunities to so many people for a vast amount of different reasons. These opportunities are often life-changing.
During the event, representatives of the charities were invited to tell their stories. This provided a truly unique and moving insight into the services that they provide. It was a humbling and uplifting occasion which also provided an opportunity for the charities to network over lunch.
Chess is an ancient game of skill and strategy played within the confines of strictly defined rules of play, within which the participants have the…
