West Lancs Paintballing

Duke of Devonshire Lodge No. 6735 in West Lancs has raised over £2,500 in the past two years, with an imaginative approach to fund raising. This has included white-water rafting and recently one of their youngest members organised a paintball competition in which lodge members and their wives took part. In atrocious weather conditions and against the odds, the Duke of Devonshire team romped home to victory against a battle-hardened team of opponents. The message is for lodges to abandon their timid approach and indulge in more fun activities.

Tapton Ladies Represent Grand Charity

Tapton Ladies, in Sheffield, visited St Luke’s Hospice recently to present a cheque for £5,000 on behalf of the Freemason’s Grand Charity. Steve Kirk, the Chief Executive, gave them a short tour round the Hospice. He expressed his gratitude for this generous annual donation, which will help to support the work of the Hospice. The donation brings the total from the Grand Charity to St Luke’s Hospice to over £65,000. ‘We were very proud to have represented the Freemasons,’ said Joanna Pigott, pictured presenting the cheque. ‘The work they do in supporting our hospices is truly amazing and St.Lukes is very dear to many people in Sheffield.’

Llanelli Helps Eye Surgery

To celebrate its 150th anniversary, the Prince of Wales Lodge, No. 671 in Llanelli, with the help of the Province of South Wales Western Division, donated £6,000 to purchase a fully portable Corneal Topographer together with laptop computer, for the Ophthalmic Consultants of West Wales. The equipment enables Consultants to give a two-dimensional representation of the three-dimensional area of the cornea. The Lodge made application to the Provincial Grand Charity, and were supported by Provincial Grand Master John Benjamin Lloyd, who is a retired GP.

Masons to Visit Holy Land

A group of English Masons and ladies are now preparing for a second visit to Israel from 12 to 19 September this year accompanied by Yasha Beresiner. This follows on the highly successful trip in November 2005 when 15 masons and ladies flew to the Holy Land for an 8 day Biblical-Masonic tour. This year’s tour in September will re-visit many of the sites and include a few new ones. The group will also visit three lodges (the ladies joining in for the festive boards) including the 75th celebrations of Lodge Reuven, No. 1, the oldest Lodge under the Grand Lodge of the State of Israel. www.intercol.co.uk

Canonbury Masonic Research Centre

18 October: Gareth Knight, Dion Fortune and the Masonic Tradition
15 November: Charles Cicero, The Rosicrucian Vault: A Compendium of the Universal Unity
Lectures 7.0 – 9.0 pm. Please send cheque for £7 payable to Canonbury Masonic Research Centre.

CMRC 8th International Conference: Saturday & Sunday, 4 and 5 November 2006 The Knowledge of the Heart – Gnostic Movements and Secret Traditions
A dynamic two-day conference which will explore the rich legacy of gnostic beliefs and secret traditions from Sufism to the Gospel of Judas.
Speakers include Richard A Crane, Tobias Churton, Roger Dachez, Philip Davies, Robert Gilbert and others. Registration forms from:
www.canonbury.ac.uk
Contact:
Carole McGilvery 020 7226 6256
email: mcgilvery@canonbury.ac.uk

Centre for Research into Freemasonry
Sheffield University

The Centre for Research into Freemasonry at the University of Sheffield has now moved into its new premises in the Douglas Knoop Centre, Humanities Research Institute, 34 Gell Street, Sheffield S3 7QW. Other contact details remain the same: tel. 0114 222 9890; fax 0114 222 9893; email: crf@sheffield.ac.uk. A ‘virtual tour’ of the new building, together with an appreciation by Andrew Prescott of the great Sheffield masonic scholar Douglas Knoop, after whom the new building is named, are available on the Centre’s website: www.freemasonry.shef.ac.uk.
    The Centre’s public programme will resume in the new academic year in October – details will be available on the website and in the next issue of Freemasonry Today.

The Cornerstone Society

A lecture tour by Brent Morris in November 2006. Brent is one of the world’s foremost masonic scholars and is the Editor of the Scottish Rite Journal of Freemasonry, USA and author of several masonic titles. Lectures to be held in lodges in Manchester, Sheffield, London and the South East as well as at the Northern Conference. For full details please see our website www.cornerstonesociety.com or write to the Secretary, details below, enclosing a sae.

The 2006 Northern Conference will be held on Saturday 11 November 2006 at Hemsley House, Salford, Greater Manchester. Full details will be published on the website in due course.

A programme of Cornerstone Society lectures for lodges throughout the year is being put together. Interested lodges are invited to contact us.
    Trials are in progress at the moment of the lodge Orator scheme in several Provinces. As the trials progress, details will be published on our website.

email secretary@cornerstonesociety.com or write to The Secretary, The Cornerstone Society, 13 Victoria Road, Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, FY8 1LE.

Quatuor Coronati

Thursday 14 September
Freemasonry Among Prisoners of War 1750-1815 Speaker: Michel Brodsky
Thursday 9 November
Installation: Inaugural address to be delivered by the Master.
yasha@intercol.co.uk Tel 077 6829 2066