Masonic Order of Athelstan

Earlier this year the consecration of the High Cross Court in Lutterworth took place, becoming the fifth Court in the Masonic Order of Athelstan. On the same day the Province of Mercia was founded, the fourth in England and Wales following Essex, Hwicce and East Anglia.
    Many Freemasons attended the consecration from all over the country and at the end of the meeting the new Provincial Grand Master for Mercia, Bryan Wills, presented Nicholas George, the Sovereign Grand Master, with a new Banner for the Grand Court, in token of thanks for the effort that had been put in by the founding members in establishing the Order over the previous few years.
    Initially a small group of Freemasons met informally to discuss and research the origins of Freemasonry; many original and authentic workings were incorporated into a workable and meaningful ritual. Senior Freemasons, including some heads of other masonic Orders, were keen to see the ritual worked formally and made available to others.
    The Order is complementary and supportive of Craft Freemasonry, with candidates required to be subscribing members of a Royal Arch Chapter recognised by the United Grand Lodge of England. The Order desires cordial and fraternal relations with other masonic bodies, dissociating itself from all irregular masonic bodies.
    Such is the interest in the Order that in the past year nearly 300 Freemasons have joined it. With a further 15 Courts planned this year for England and Wales and four overseas, the membership by the end of this year will have reached some 650, with further expansion at the planning stage for next year.

Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons 150th Anniversary

The Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons, formed in June 1856, celebrates its 150th Anniversary this year with a week of events culminating in a celebratory meeting on Thursday 26 October 2006 at the Royal Albert Hall in London, presided over by the Grand Master HRH. Prince Michael of Kent.
    The Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons has over 44,000 members worldwide. There are currently 1,545 Mark lodges throughout the world which, apart from 15 unattached lodges, are grouped into 41 Provinces in this country, twenty eight Districts abroad and three Inspectorates. The celebratory meeting will be open not only to Mark Masons but also wives, partners and non-masonic guests. There will be an address by the Grand Master, a musical interlude including the choir of the Royal Masonic School for Girls, a talk on Mark Masonry by James Daniel, past Grand Secretary in the Craft and a banner dedication of new banners donated to the five founding Lodges by the Grand Lodge.
    There will also be a preview of an exhibition on Mark Masonry at Freemasons’ Hall, Great Queen Street, London on Monday 23 October, a special meeting of the Grand Master’s Lodge of Instruction in the presence of the Pro Grand Master, John Hale on Tuesday 24 October featuring a demonstration of the Mark degree, a reception for overseas Brethren to be held at Drapers’ Hall in the City of London on Thursday 26 October at 7.30 pm, attended by the Grand Master, and a celebratory dinner held at Guildhall on Wednesday 25 October, presided over by the Grand Master.
    Write to: 150th Anniversary, Mark Masons’ Hall, 86 St. James’s Street, London SW1A 1PL. email: 150@mmh.org.uk