Masonry is described as ‘Universal’ and although no lodge has yet been contacted outside our particular galaxy, the Craft can be found in every part of this world of ours. There are, of course, differences in details of ritual but the ideals of Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth, remain as landmarks generally acknowledged. This unity has been achieved largely through our refusal to discuss either politics or religion, leaving every Brother free to make his own arrangements for worship and polity. In this way we can meet Brethren of other Constitutions on equal terms while still retaining our own religious beliefs and without sacrificing our own patriotism.
    One of the great advantages of this system is that we can welcome Brethren from other countries, and can also visit lodges overseas – having first obtained the approval of our own Grand Lodge. This approval is vitally important, for without it a Brother might unwittingly violate his obligation by mixing with some quasi-masonic group unrecognised by our Grand Lodge.
    Visiting gives pleasure not only to the visitor but also to his host and his lodge. Many lasting friendships have developed from such contact, to the advantage of Freemasonry in general and the lodges in particular. My own experience of visiting has been considerable: having been initiated in 1937 in Suffolk, I was appointed as assistant curate of a parish in the West Midlands on the border between two large masonic Provinces. The War had started. I was a long way from my Suffolk home, and I knew only my immediate neighbours in the parish. Then the Provincial Grand Secretary of Suffolk contacted his counterparts in the two Midland Provinces and, within a few days, representatives from local lodges (one from each Province) arrived on my doorstep with invitations for me to attend the next meeting of their respective lodges. I immediately found that I had at least a hundred friends to call ‘Brother’ - and some of those friendships have lasted down to the present century.
    In those early days my visiting was naturally limited to lodges within easy distance and, by the end of the war, I had been transferred to another parish back in Suffolk, visiting East Anglian lodges and entertaining visitors in my Mother Lodge. Twenty years later I moved to a church in the City of London and stayed there until retirement. By that time I had been appointed Grand Chaplain and had various tasks to undertake for Grand Lodge while also having important roles in other Degrees and Orders. This involved a lot of visiting both in this country and overseas which, after retirement, I was able to do.
    Language? No difficulty: it seems that most nations nowadays speak English, or at least there is somebody in every lodge who can act as interpreter. I have been fortunate enough to attend masonic meetings in all five continents of this world. The other day I counted up the number of different countries this included and to my astonishment it came to a total of forty-two – and some of them were visited on more than one occasion. ‘Aren’t you lucky,’ my friends say.
    Yes, I suppose it is fortunate to have the privilege of carrying the message of Freemasonry to other parts of the world, but I cannot deny that it is exhausting as well and can only be described as ‘pleasure’ if you really enjoy looking at masonic halls, hotel bedrooms and airport departure lounges! I’m not complaining, just stating the facts.
    All visits are memorable, and some are more memorable than others. One that particularly stands out in my recollection is a meeting in Israel, in the town of Tiberias on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. At that time I was conducting a mixed party of pilgrims on a Holy Land tour. The party contained a dozen Freemasons so, through the good offices of our Grand Secretary and his staff, we had contacted the Grand Lodge of Israel and in due course received an invitation to attend the Lodge in Tiberias where we were staying.
    On the appointed day we all turned up with regalia and Grand Lodge Certificates and received a warm fraternal welcome from the local Brethren. The meeting itself was fascinating: the membership of the lodge is largely Jewish and on this occasion there was a visitation from Brethren of a lodge in Nazareth, mostly of Arab origin. The Officers of the local lodge opened and closed the meeting and carried out the general business in Hebrew and the visiting team conducted the Second Degree in Arabic.
    Although we didn’t understand the actual words we had no difficulty in following what was going on because Israel works the same ritual as our own. However, for me the most impressive part came after the meeting when we all sat down together at the same table, irrespective of nationality, language or religion, eating and drinking, at peace with one another. That is the real essence of Freemasonry; that is what makes visiting such an important part of what we do and sets an example for all the world to follow.