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 in discussion within Provinces, Hall Management and Lodges. Further restrictions were announced just before Christmas and reviews would be ongoing into 2021
Any resumption of 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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Towards the end of 2020 we lost two of our Brethren: Bro. DEREK BELL, PPGStwd and BOB GIBSON, PGStdB, PPJGW. These Brethren are a significant loss to our organisation and St Mary's Lodge were well represented (Covid permitting) at their funerals. We send our sincere condolences to their wives and families.
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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 in June could not be held, but Paul is delighted at this honour conferred on him
The October Promotions Meeting did not take place but congratulations are extended to our Worshipful Master, Bro. S.A. Lee on his Promotion to PPJGW. Congratulations are also shared with Ryton Holy Cross Lodge as our SW, Bro. D. Anderson is also to be promoted to PPJGW. Our congratulations to both these Brethren
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 next meeting is held, 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
As supporters of the Durham 2021 RMTGB Festival, we are delighted to have obtained our Gold Award, raising over £15,500 through our Members efforts
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
‘‘4864 NEWS’’ is the Newsletter of St Mary’s Lodge. The latest edition 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
St Mary's Lodge 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 meet 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 delivering 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
Forthcoming Events
Charities & Grants
These fall into three main categories:
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Masonic Relief Grants: financial assistance for Freemasons and their families who are experiencing hardship
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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 (MCF)
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Other Masonic Charities: when justifiable needs arise, to support the work of the other Masonic charities
The MCF continues to donate large sums to areas that are suffering hardship, strife or natural disasters
The 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 been awarded the Gold Award for all their efforts and Festival contributions. This equates to 100% of our target of £15,500, a great achievement
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
