4864

WELCOME TO
St. Mary’s Lodge

COVID-19 / CORONAVIRUS

Total code is 2011, £30.02pp

Please read this Letter from our Worshipful Master

In March 2020, the Grand Master made the announcement that all Masonic activities are to be suspended for a period of FOUR months

On the 17th of July 2020 UGLE announced the resumption of Masonic Activities. However, these were on condition of many guidelines which are currently in discussion within Provinces, Hall Managements and Lodges

Resumption of our Meetings will depend on the outcome of the above

St Mary's and Visiting Brethren can be assured that the health, safety and welfare of everyone will be our only concern when making any decision to return

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It is reassuring to hear that UGLE and MCF are taking the initiative to form Regional Communications Groups (RCG’s). These groups will ‘‘liaise to provide visible and effective help, on a National scale to our members and the wider community’’. A Relief Chest Scheme will be established so that donations can be made. A great initiative and one that we should all support

Please keep yourselves, your families and your friends safe and secure and spare a thought and perhaps consider a call, email or text to your fellow Brethren

Our Lodge Almoner, PAUL McKIE is very busy contacting Brethren regularly during this difficult period. If YOU need HIM get in touch

Sincere congratulations to PAUL McKIE, who has been awarded the rank of Past Provincial Grand Steward by the PGM. Unfortunately the Annual Investiture Meeting could not be held, but Paul is delighted at this honour conferred on him

If you have any concerns or need any assistance please call or contact Paul, or our Lodge Secretary George Tatters, or our WM Steven Lee, who will be happy to assist in any way

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WELCOME TO OUR FREEMASONS LODGE WEBSITE UNDER THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED GRAND LODGE OF ENGLAND

Our next meeting is on a day and date to be advised but we will commence at 6.45pm. We also welcome Visiting Brethren (with current guidelines and restrictions to be observed) to attend any of our Meetings in our Masonic Year

Whenever the meeting is, a First Degree Ceremony will be worked with a Candidate

St. Mary’s Lodge meet and are located within The Masonic Centre, Alexandra Road, Gateshead NE8 1RB (https://www.gatesheadmasonic.co.uk/) and we are part of the large masonic family of Masonic Lodges in the former County Durham area of the UK, known as the Provincial Grand Lodge of Durham, being Lodge Number 4864

If you are interested in finding out more about becoming a Freemason please refer to the ‘Contact Us’ area of our Website, indicating ‘Membership’ in the subject area. A return call or correspondence in confidence will then be made to you

CoronaVirus_StMarys_Members.pdf

‘‘4864 NEWS’’ is the Newsletter of St Mary’s Lodge. This is available in printed format at the Gateshead Masonic Hall or a PDF version is available from the ‘About the Lodge’ section below or on request from Bro W. Baty (wbaty@aol.com) for anyone interested in our Lodge and Freemasonry

‘‘We hope that you will find our Website interesting and informative. Our aim is to use it as a means of communication, correspondence and information for our Members, Visiting Brethren and any interested individuals’’

St Mary’s Lodge have Candidates for all our meetings in 2020-2021

VISITING BRETHREN WILL ALWAYS RECEIVE A
WARM WELCOME IN ST MARY'S LODGE

Remember Brethren that if you cannot attend a Lodge Meeting or a Lodge of Instruction, please submit your apologies by contacting our Secretary, George Tatters. If you are an Officer please notify our Director of Ceremonies Bill Baty (contact details on the Lodge Summons) so that alternative arrangements can be made if necessary

In both these cases, our Almoner, Bro. P.J. McKie, can then be notified of all absentees and these can be included in the 9.30pm Absent Brethren's Toast on our Lodge Night

About the Lodge

Location

We are based within the Masonic Centre, Alexandra Road, Gateshead NE8 1RB, Tyne & Wear, where several other Lodges also meet. Search online for the Gateshead Masonic Hall (https://www.gatesheadmasonic.co.uk/) and follow the Link from this Website for more details of this splendid building. You can find out who meets here and how the premises and its excellent facilities can be hired by anyone for their function, wedding, celebration, meeting, christening, birthday, seminar or any family gathering etc.

4864 News

We produce a Newsletter for our Members, Visiting Brethren and anyone else who is interested in who we are and what we do. It is attached below in PDF format for you to download. If it is of interest to you then please let us know. If you want to find out more about St Mary’s Lodge and Freemasonry generally then get in touch. If you wish to contribute contact Bill Baty

Date and Times

St Mary’s Lodge meets nine times per year on the first Friday of each of the months of February (Installation meeting), March, April, May, June, September, October, November, and December. We always have an Annual Lecture in December with a good speaker presenting it

Regular Lodge Meetings always commence at 6.45pm

The Annual Festival Meeting in February commences at approximately 5.30pm, with the Annual Festival Dinner following at 7.30pm

Next and Future Meetings

CORONAVIRUS SUSPENSION. Our next Lodge Meeting will be on a day and date to be advised but we will commence at 6.45pm prompt. When this meeting is rearranged, we will work a First Degree Ceremony with a candidate

CORONAVIRUS SUSPENSION. Our Lodge of Instruction always meets on the ‘‘Last Thursday of the Month’’. The next Lodge of Instruction will be held on a day and date to be advised, commencing at 6.30pm in the Main Lodge Room at Gateshead

When this meeting is rearranged, Bro S.A. Lee, WM, assisted by the Officers and Past Masters will work a First Degree Ceremony. All Brethren taking part in the Ceremony and Lodge Officers are expected to attend

The Lodge Summons for the next Regular Meeting will be displayed below when the date is known. All Lodge Summons are currently suspended

4864News_Spring2020.pdf

Forthcoming Events

LODGE OF INSTRUCTION

Thursday,
?th ? 2020,
6.30pm

CORONAVIRUS SUSPENSION. Always on the last Thursday of the month. The business of the next Lodge of Instruction will be a Practice of the First Degree Ceremony by the WM and Officers at Gateshead

All Officers and Past Masters are requested to attend. A cordial invitation is extended to all MM’s

Lecture Master will be Bro W. Baty, PM, PProvSGW, Director of Ceremonies

LODGE MEETING

Friday,
?rd ? 2020,
6.45pm

CORONAVIRUS SUSPENSION. Followed by Supper afterwards in the Dining Room at approximately 8.15pm

Visiting Brethren will always receive a warm welcome to St Mary’s Lodge. There is no need to pre-book a meal, just come along, sign the dining sheet and enjoy a great masonic evening

Charities

Grants fall into three main categories:

Masonic Relief Grants: financial assistance for Freemasons and their families who are experiencing hardship

Grants to Charities: support for the important work of registered charities of all sizes. Community Support and Research grants are now provided by the Masonic Charitable Foundation

Other Masonic Charities: when justifiable needs arise, to support the work of the other Masonic charities

The Masonic Charitable Foundation continues to donate large sums to areas that are suffering hardship, strife or natural disasters

The Masonic Charitable Foundation (MCF) is dedicated to helping people in need and has donated over £120 million since 1981

Each year, The MCF provides relief grants for hundreds of individuals who are experiencing financial difficulty, as well as donating millions of pounds to nationwide and international charitable projects

TLC, Teddy Bear Appeal, a Durham Initiative

The objective is simple: to provide TLC Teddies to all of the Accident and Emergency Units and Child Hospices within the Province of Durham. Since its launch, we have donated almost 100,000 teddies to local hospitals.

What are TLC Teddies?
TLC Teddies are a small Teddy Bear bearing a label simply stating ‘Donated by local Freemasons’ these are distributed to the Accident and Emergency Units and Child hospice and Respite Care Centres of Durham and are given at the medical staff’s discretion to young patients to help alleviate distress. The Teddy helps to distract the child while giving them a friend and someone to hug while allowing the medical staff to get on with their urgent work.

How are they funded?
The beauty of this appeal is in its simplicity. The fund collects donations from both Lodges and individuals and turns the money into Teddies, these Teddies are then distributed amongst the Accident and Emergency units within the Province. The success of the project relies on annual donations from each Lodge in the Province.

Benefits for the Community and Freemasonry
The appeal benefits the community through the A&E departments that serve them. The use of the teddies has been proved to have beneficial effects for children admitted to A&E units by relieving their distress and alleviating the fear of being treated by complete strangers. They also act as a tool to help staff befriend the child as well as a reward for being brave. It has also been found that the medical staff can perform tasks i.e. injections on the Teddy first making the child far less frightened

The appeal is a Masonic initiative and therefore no reward is sought, however, the simple nature of the appeal has benefited Freemasonry by raising our profile in a positive way.

The Durham 2021 Royal Masonic Trust for Girls and Boys (RMTGB) Festival

This is the Durham 2021 Festival where we have been targeted to raise £2.7m concluding in February 2021

Lodges are given specific targets relevant to their membership at the start of the Festival and are encouraged to donate either by continuous giving or supporting the many events, initiatives and fundraising organised

Awards are given at Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum stages of achievement and appropriate recognition is made to those Lodges who reach this

The Royal Masonic Trust for Girls and Boys aims to relieve poverty and advance education for children and young people. In addition to its main grant-making work, it also supports the exceptional talents of young people and those who need financial assistance to embrace life-changing opportunities. They award grants to both national and local children's charities and provide in-kind support to individual and separate charities

St Mary’s Durham 2021 Royal Masonic Trust for Girls and Boys (RMTGB) Festival

St Mary’s Lodge have received the Silver Badge Award for their Festival contributions. This equates to 66% of our target

Durham Benevolence

One of the three fundamental principles of Freemasonry is administered in our Province by the Durham Masonic Benevolent Fund, a registered charity number 279313

The Provincial Benevolent Committee consists of an elected member from every Lodge in the Province

As a Charity with assets over £8m, they are very proud of our low administrative costs mainly due to the time and experience freely given by so many dedicated and enthusiastic Freemasons and by the staff in Provincial Office in Sunderland

Their two residential housing properties at Fulwell, Sunderland and Bishop Auckland are flagships of the organisation

Durham Benevolence provides assistance in many ways to local causes or individuals. An application can be made to them for this assistance, further information is available by contacting them directly

What is Freemasonry?

Above is a video from some Durham Freemasons, it gives their opinions on Freemasonry. There are other videos available on YouTube for individual to view

Freemasonry

Means different things to each individual who joins or have an opinion on it. For some, it is about making new friends and acquaintances. For many others, it is about being able to help deserving causes – making a contribution to people less fortunate or assist a family. individual and society in general. But for most, it is, and should also be, an enjoyable hobby

Freemasonry is one of the world’s oldest and largest non-religious, non-political, fraternal and charitable organisations. It teaches self-knowledge through participation in a progression of ceremonies. Members are expected to be of high moral standing and are encouraged to speak openly about Freemasonry. The following information is intended to explain Freemasonry as it is practised under the United Grand Lodge of England, which administers Lodges of Freemasons in England and Wales and in many places overseas

Freemasonry is a society of men concerned with moral and spiritual values. Its members are taught its principles (moral lessons and self-knowledge) by a series of ritual dramas – a progression of allegorical plays which are learnt by heart and performed within each Lodge – which follow ancient forms, and use stonemasons’ customs and tools as allegorical guides. These are performed in the Lodge Room (or Temple as it is sometimes known) and afterwards, we retire to the Festive Board for a meal and refreshments where we can relax, enjoy each other’s company and also acknowledge an informal side of Freemasonry in various toasts and responses

Freemasonry instils in its members a moral and ethical approach to life: its values are based on integrity, kindness, honesty and fairness. Members are urged to regard the interests of the family as paramount but, importantly, Freemasonry also teaches concern for people, care for the less fortunate and help for those in need

The joining of a masonic lodge is a commitment to be a good citizen as well as a good member of the Lodge and to attend and to support all the things that are organised within the Lodge, the building and Freemasonry generally. However that support is not just a financial one; assistance can be forthcoming by giving a helping hand, making a gesture, an offer of help, a thought, a telephone call, or giving up one’s time to assist in some way

There are three ‘Degrees’ in Freemasonry and everyone who joins goes through or has gone through these symbolic ‘Ceremonies’ of Initiation, Passing and Raising and this takes place over several months. Candidates for joining should also be made aware that membership of the Royal Arch Chapter is expected. This Order is directly attached to Craft Freemasonry and its ceremony forms the completion of a Master Mason’s membership. More information about this area of Freemasonry is available from the Lodge Secretary

Freemasonry used to play a very important part of community life in the early part of the 20th Century and has had to come to terms with the popularity of other forms of socialising. Because of this, and other factors, membership has reduced, but being a Freemason, the standards expected and the ideals it stands for have not

Each Lodge, and there are about 160+ in the Province of Durham alone, have a group of Officers, led by the Worshipful Master (WM), who perform the ceremonies mentioned above. Others may assist in these ceremonies and all the words are expected to be learnt by the individual. Officers within the Lodge change every year, in a progressive system of advancement. The WM is the Senior Officer within the Lodge and is expected to represent the Lodge on all masonic occasions he attends; of course, other Officers are expected to do the same. Freemasons visit each other's Lodges and friendships and relationships are struck with Lodges and individuals

St Mary’s Lodge meet on the first Friday of every month at 6.45pm, except January, July and August with the Annual Installation in February starting around 5.30pm

The costs associated with joining and staying a subscribing member of a Lodge are available on request from our Lodge Secretary or Lodge Treasurer. However, the individual must be aware there is a financial obligation and responsibility to being a Freemason

Freemasonry embraces family life and families are encouraged to participate. Many Lodges have meetings to which family members are invited and this is greatly encouraged

Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth are three foremost principles of Freemasonry and when put together with charitable work and deeds, it is hoped that being a member of our organisation will make the individual a better person; respected and recognised as being a good and honest citizen and member of society

Freemasons support Masonic charities in a huge way, but also support many other charities and good causes. Freemasonry is one of the largest donators to good, needy and emergency causes but it is sometimes not recognised or acknowledged. Freemasons donate, through United Grand Lodge, huge amounts for emergency appeals, distress situations, research and hardships, educational grants, family assistance etc. Members are expected to support Charity but never in a way that is detrimental to them or their families

Further information on Freemasonry and St. Mary’s Lodge can be obtained from the Lodge Secretary, from our Lodge Website and Lodge Members

Lodge Secretary: George R. Tatters (0191) 4202079

Lodge Mentor: William Baty (07956 125851)