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'This page has been approved by the United Grand Lodge of England’
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INFORMATION FOR THE GUIDANCE OF MEMBERS OF THE CRAFT
ATTENDANCE AT LODGES OVERSEAS The growth in overseas travel in recent years brought with it an increase in visits by our Brethren to Lodges of other jurisdictions, and the Board welcomes this trend. From time to time, however, Brethren become involved with Masonic bodies which Grand Lodge does not recognise, e.g. in visiting a jurisdiction which, quite legitimately so far as it is concerned, accepts as visitors Brethren from Grand Lodges which are not recognised by Grand Lodge of England. In this connection, Brethren are reminded that it is part of their duty as members of the English Constitution not to associate masonically with members of unrecognised constitutions, and should such a situation occur, they should tactfully withdraw, even though their visit may have been formally arranged. To avoid this danger and potential embarrassment to hosts, Brethren should not attempt to make any masonic contact overseas without having first checked (preferably in writing) with the Grand Secretary’s office at Freemasons’ Hall, Great Queen Street, London WC2B 5AZ, that there is recognised Freemasonry in the country concerned and, if so, whether there is any particular point which should be watched. The Board recommends that the terms of this warning should be repeated : a) verbally in open Lodge whenever a Grand Lodge Certificate is presented and b) in print once a year in a Lodge Summons. Brethren should also be aware of the masonic convention that communications between Grand Lodges be conducted by Grand Secretaries. They should therefore not attempt without permission to make direct contact with the Grand Secretary of another constitution. (extract from Report of the Board of General Purposes, adopted 11 Sept. 1996) ATTENDANCE AT LODGES UNDER THE ENGLISH CONSTITUTION BY BRETHREN FROM OTHER GRAND LODGES The Board considers it apprpriate to draw attention to Rule 125(b), Book of Constitutions, and the list of Grand Lodges recognised by the Grand Lodge of England, which is published in the Masonic Year Book, copies of which are sent to Secretaries of Lodges. Only Brethren who are members of Lodges under recognised jurisdictions may visit English Lodges. They must produce a certificate(i.e. a Grand Lodge Certificate or other documentary proof of Masonic identity provided by their Grand Lodge), should be prepared to acknowledge that a personal belief in T.G.A.O.T.U. is an essential Landmark in Freemasonry, and should be able to produce evidence of their good standing in their Lodges. It is the Master’s responsibility to ensure that the requirements of Rule 125(b) are met. It is particularly noted that the hazard of admitting a member of an unrecognised Constitution arises not only in connection with overseas visitors. There are Lodges of unrecognised Grand Lodges meeting in England, and care must be taken that their members are not admitted to our meetings. BUSINESS CONDUCTED WITH NON-MASONS PRESENTThe practice of admitting ladies and other non-Masons to a Lodge room after the Lodge has been closed or called off in order to receive a talk or presentation on Freemasonry is becoming increasingly common. The Grand Secretary and the Board receive enquiries from time to time as to whether it is permissible to conduct part of a Lodge’s work in front of non-Masons. The Board sought advice from the Grand Director of Ceremonies as to what constitutes Masonic business that may only be transacted while a Lodge is open and what business may be carried out in the presence of non-Masons, and after consideration hopes that the Grand Lodge will endorse the following statement: 1. In a Private Lodge no non-Mason may be present while the Lodge is open.(See the last of the Ancient Charges in the Summary submitted to by every Master before his Installation _ “ You promise that no Visitor shall be received into your Loge without due examination, and producing proper Vouchers of his having been initiated in a regular Lodge.”) 2. So far as the Grand Lodge, or a Provincial or District Grand Lodge is concerned, precedents exists for the meeting being called on – so that masonic business(of a purely administrative nature) could be carried out – while non-Masons are present, the most notable instance being at Earls Court in 1992. The Board recommends that such precedents should not be followed in future by Provincial or District Grand Lodges. 3. No part of the ceremonies of Initiation, Passing, Raising or Installation may be conducted with non-Masons present; those ceremonies, to be valid, must take place in open Lodge. This extends to those elements such as the Charge after Initiation, which some might argue are not strictly part of the ceremony. The Board notes that the text of that Charge is already in the public domain, and in particular is sometimes recited at ‘open days’, but draws a distinction between such events and a ‘live’ ceremony to which it is appropriate to admit non-Masons. 4. The administrative business of a Lodge, besides being of a private nature, to be validly transacted must be conducted in open Lodge(i.e. without non-Masons present). 5. Apart from those items of Masonic ritual and administrative business reffered to above, there is no compelling need to adopt a mysterious or secretive attitude towards other Masonic activities which can take place while a Lodge is called off or after it has been closed. For example the laying of Foundation Stones with Masonic ceremonial was once commonplace. Banner dedications afford another example where an impressive show of Masonic ceremonial (as opposed to ritual) can be given without in any way compromising Masonic principles. In such instances, an important test is whether the Lodge feels comfortable with such a display and provided that the local Masonic authority has no objection either generally or in relation to a particular activity, the Board considers that Lodges should not be discouraged from (or. conversely, pressed into) admitting their ladies and friends on such occasions. No Masonic signs whatever may be given on such occasions, as the Lodge is not open. 6. The Board does not wish to discourage the admission of non-Masons to investitures, which do not of themselves involve anything that an outsider may not see and are, in any event, conducted by or on behalf of a recognised Masonic authority. It does, however, note that some Brethren may be relectant to attend on such occasions to be invested because they do not feel comfortable at the presence of non-Masons. 7. Whilst there is nothing especially esoteric in the Masonic ceremonial which accompanies a Private Lodge’s Centenary or Bi-Centenary celebrations and the associated presentation of a Warrant, the Board recommends that as an official ceremony, the essential elements of which have been laid down by central Masonic authority, it must be conducted while the Lodge is open and without non-Masons present. (Extract from Report of Board of General Purposes, adopted 11 Sept 2002) CALLING OFF’ DURING MASONIC CEREMONIES On several occasions the Board of General Purposes has expressed the opinion that Masonic ceremonies should be carried through without interruptions, and this question has been endorsed by the Grand Lodge. As a result of representations which have been received, the Board of General Purposes has reconsidered the matter and it recommends that the Master of a Lodge should be permitted to make a short break in the proceedings at a suitable time during a meeting, provided that the Lodge is properly “called off” and “called on” again. (Extract from Report of Board of General Purposes, adopted 8 March 1961) CORRESPONDANCE WITH OTHER GRAND LODGES AND THEIR MEMBERS It is an established Masonic convention that Masonic correspondence outside Lodges and membership of the United Grand Lodge of England should be conducted through the offices of the respective Grand Secretaries. It appears from the correspondence in the Grand Secretaries office from his colleagues in other jurisdictions that this convention is being increasingly disregarded. The Board wishes to remind members of the Craft that all enquiries to directed to other Grand Lodges should be sent to Freemasons’ Hall, London. Where in certain areas overseas there are, in addition to English District Grand Lodges or Inspectorates, similar bodies under other jurisdictions no exception is taken to contact on routine matters through our District Grand Secretary or Grand Inspector. (Extract from Report of Board of General Purposes, adopted 12 March 1980) It must be clearly understood by every member of the Craft that his membership does not in any way exempt him from his duty to meet his responsibilities to the society in which he lives. The Charge to the new Initiate calls on him to be exemplary in the discharge of his civil duties; this duty extends throughout his private, public, business or professional life. The principles of the Craft make it clear to him that his duty as a Freemason does not conflict with his duty as a citizen, but reinforces it. (Extract from Report of Board of General Purposes, adopted 10 June 1987) The attention of the Board has been drawn to the practice within certain Lodges of using Lodge funds to defray the cost of presentation to Ladies or to meet any deficit in the running of Ladies’ Nights or similar functions. The Board reaffirms that the Lodge funds shall be applied solely to recognised Masonic purposes, though it has long been accepted that customary subscriptions to local charities may continue to be met from this source. A Ladies’ Night is not a Masonic function and, as such, must not in any way subsidized from Lodge funds. If any such payments are found in Lodge Accounts it is the undoubted duty of the Lodge Auditors to draw attention to them and to ensure that such irregularities are at once rectified. (Extract from Report of Board of General Purposes, adopted 11 Dec 1968) INTERNET – FORUMS AND ‘CHAT ROOMS’ It has been brought to the notice of the Board that some Brethren are using the internet not only to make contact with other Freemasons, which may be unexceptionable, but also as a means of seeking guidance on questions which should properly be addressed to their Provincial or District Grand Secretaries, from whom authoritative answers are available. Such enquiries frequently elicit a variety of different answers (of which many are, in the nature of things, likely to be wrong) and the Board considers that directing questions on protocol and similar matters to those participating in an internet forum is inappropriate both for that reason and because of the nature of the subject-matter involved. (Extract from Report of Board of General Purposes, adopted 13 March 2002) LODGE AFTER-DINNER PROCEEDINGS It has been reported that in some instances individuals are being called upon to pay the entire cost of the after-proceedings. The Board finds it necessary to state plainly that no Brother, and particularly no Candidate and no Master, should in any circumstances be required to pay for meals provided for any one other than himself and his personal guests. (Extract from Report of Board of General Purposes, adopted 9 March 1983) NON-MASONS AT AFTER-PROCEEDINGS Since June 1986 when the Board last reported to Grand Lodge on this matter it has become increasingly common for the Lodges to entertain wives and other non-Masons to dinner. The Board does not wish to discourage this practice – indeed many non-Masons were present at the meal at Earls Court which followed Grand Lodge’s Quarterly Communication in June 1992 celebrating its’ 275th anniversary – but hopes that it will remain the exception rather than the rule, and it will be confined to perhaps a single meeting in each year. In the light of this change the Board has re-examined the policy of giving of Masonic toasts on each occasions. It has concluded that there is nothing inherently improper in drinking the health of individuals in their Masonic capacity even though non-Masons are present, particularly when the latter are so clearly aware of the fact that the meal follows a Masonic meeting. The Board hopes that Grand Lodge will endorse its recommendation that there is no objection to drinking Masonic toasts in the presence of non-Masons, provided that Brethren in the course of speeches avoid references to matters of Masonic ritual. For this reason it also recommends that ‘fire’ and the Tyler’s toast, both of which have their origin in the Masonic lectures, should not be given on such occasions, particularly as the latter might be seen to be divisive by its exclusion of non-Masons from its scope. The Board also considers it desirable that the number of toasts drunk should be kept within reasonable bounds, so that non-Masons are not overwhelmed or confused, and suggests that it should rarely be necessary for the list to be longer than “The Queen and the Craft”, “The MW Grand Master”, ”The Provincial(or District) Grand Master”, “The Worshipful Master” and ”The Guests” (Extract from Report of Board of General Purposes, adopted 13 Dec 1995) MASONIC DESIGNATIONS ON ENVELOPES It has been brought to the attention of the Board that members of the Craft are embarrassed by being addressed on envelops in Masonic form. Brethren are asked to note that, on an envelop, the Masonic prefix to a recipient’s name should not be used, nor should abbreviated Masonic ranks be so shown after the name. (Extract from Report of the Board pf General Purposes, adopted 11 Dec 1968) MASTER’S AND PAST MASTER’S COLLARS The Board emphasizes strongly that Past Masters (who are not Grand Officers, Past Grand Stewards, District Grand Officers) must always wear light blue collars as laid down in Rule 264, Book of Constitutions (with Past Master’s jewel attached to the point of collar) in their own Lodges as well as elsewhere; Masters of Lodges (and Wardens) are permitted to wear their collars and jewels only in the Lodge in which they hold such office and in Grand Lodge and District Grand Lodge. These collars must not be worn when visiting other private Lodges. (Extract from Report of Board of General Purposes, adopted 13 March 1968) Brethren with mobile telephones are reminded that they should be switched off during Lodge meetings. If an urgent call is expected, arrangements should be made for it to be received by the Tyler. (Extract from Report of the Board of General Purposes adopted 13 March 2002) Brethren are reminded that whilst there is no objection to the taking of group photographs in a lodge room in connection with a special meeting, the taking of photographs during meetings (including of the out going procession) is prohibited. Photography in general within Freemasons’ Hall is prohibited unless special permission has been given. (Extract from the Report of Board of General Purposes, adopted 8 September 1993) Although at one time it was not obligatory to print and circulate copies of Lodge By-Laws, it has for many years been a requirement of the Book of Constitutions (Rule 138) that every member shall be given a copy; his acceptance of the copy is deemed to be a declaration of his submission to them. In view of this the Board does not consider it necessary that the By-Laws should be read in Lodge once in every year, and suggests that such recommendation should be excised from the ceremonial. (Extract from Report of Board of General Purposes, adopted 12 September 1979) STANDARD OF DRESSThe Board accordingly recommends that in Grand Lodge Brethren must wear either a plain black tie, as hitherto, or the Grand Lodge tie. On all other occasions, as an alternative to a plain black tie the Grand Lodge tie or the relevant authorized District tie may be worn. The Board wishes to remind Brethren, however, that when visiting a Lodge in a District they should wear a plain black tie or the Grand Lodge tie unless the particular District Grand Master permits otherwise. The Board reaffirms that, unless it is the custom of a Lodge to meet in evening dress, traditional morning wear or dark lounge suit continue to be the appropriate dress. Shirts must have a plain white collar and, if not completely white, should be of a restrained pattern or hue. (Extract from Report of Board of General Purposes, adopted 11 December 2002) SUMMONS, ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION OF The Board has been asked whether it is or should be permissible for Lodge Summonses to be sent to members by E-Mail rather than through post. After considering the question, the Board recommends that in those cases where the Secretary of a Lodge is able and willing to dispatch summonses by such means, it should be sufficient compliance with the requirements of the Book of Constitutions if the summonses are sent by e-mail to those members who have requested it. Any such request should be made in writing and on an annual basis. Every other member should, however, continue to receive summons by post, and it is essential that at least one printed copy of each summons be retained by the Lodge for its’ records. In addition any summons to be sent to the relevant Masonic Authority must be sent in printed form unless electronic transmission has been requested. (Extract from the Report of Board of General Purposes, adopted 13 December 2000) WEARING OF REGALIA IN ENGLISH LODGES The Board wishes to remind Brethren who have joined Lodges of the English Constitution from other Constitutions that they must wear English regalia in English Lodges, whether they are present as members or as visitors. Joining membership is not complete until a categorical promise is given under Rule 163, Book of Constitutions, to pay due obedience to all the Rules and Regulations of the United Grand Lodge of England. This applies inter alia to Rule 239 which states that no Brother (i.e. of the English Constitution) shall be admitted to the Grand Lodge or any subordinate Lodge without the clothing appropriate to his rank under the Grand Lodge. The Board feels that it is only reasonable that ’dual members’ who have in writing the request of their Grand Master to represent him in a meeting held under the English Constitution, or who as Masters of Lodges are invited, and are paying an official visit, to an English Lodge, should be excepted from these provisions, and hopes that the Grand Lodge will endorse this view. In this connection attention is drawn also to a ruling of the Board that any Master installed in a recognized Constitution is entitled to the prefix ‘Worshipful’ and to wear levels on his apron. He is, however, not entitled to wear a Past Master’s collar until he has qualified as such by service in the chair of an English Lodge. (Extract from Report of Board of General Purposes, adopted 8 December 1965) Must a Candidate, who has not been summoned to attend for initiation within the year of election, be subject to a second ballot? Yes; the Lodge should not elect more than it can initiate within the stipulated time in Rule 159, B of C Balloting, collective Is a collective Ballot regular? If ‘yes’, would a sufficient number of black balls exclude all the Candidates, or should the ballot be retaken individually? A Collective Ballot is regular, provided that, if there be sufficient number of black balls to exclude a Candidate, each Candidate should be balloted for individually. How much variation is allowed to the ritual to accommodate a Candidate’s disability ? In cases where the nature of a Candidate’s disability is such that without extensive modifications execution of part or parts of the ritual would be difficult or impossible, advice and guidance is available from the Grand Secretary’s office. (in Districts, via the District Grand Secretary) (i) Description of A Lewis is the uninitiated son of a Mason and it matters not whether the son was born before or after his father became a Mason. (ii) Privileges of Where a Lewis is one of two Candidates being initiated on the same day he would be senior for the purpose of the ceremony. He can not claim precedence over candidates proposed or elected previously to himself and he must take his place in the usual rotation on any waiting list. Being a Lewis is not ground for dispensation to enable him to be initiated under the age of 21 (Rule 157, B of C) PAST MASTER PERFORMING CEREMONY When a Master vacates the chair for a Past Master to perform a ceremony does he invest him with his Collar for the time being ? No, but the Past Master must be clothed according to his rank. What position does a P M take on rejoining a Lodge from which he resigned ? As junior P M; taking precedence from the date he joins
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