Masons Work With Kids Company

Kids Company is a charity working with disturbed and deprived children. Their founder, Camilla Batmanghelidjh, went to talk to Kirby Lodge, No. 2818, in London recently. The charity’s main site in south London is known as The Arches (it was originally founded under a railway arch). At most play centres, you might see parents dropping off their children or picking them up. That doesn’t happen at Kids Company, because many of the children lack reliable parents. That might be because of mental health problems or drug addiction, or because the parent is in prison. The vast majority have no father figure. Camilla says ‘Our work is about rekindling the capacity to feel. Unless you can experience empathy, and have a sense of self-preservation, you behave dangerously.’ www.kidsco.org.uk

Two Keyboards in Saltire

The position of lodge Secretary is one of the most important offices. He is often the driving force behind the lodge. When the role is viewed by a computer enthusiast, the position of Secretary appears as a series of interlinked names, addresses, dates, locations, honours, ceremonies and events, governed by lots of rules and requiring regular reports. A programme has been developed, now use by several Provincial Grand Lodges, that not only manages and incorporates all of the above but also meets the approval of many lodge Secretaries. www.lodgesoftware.com

North Yorkshire Helps Air Ambulances

During his year in the chair of Lennox Lodge, No. 123, Chris Nicholson and his wife held an evening of magic at their home in near Richmond, Yorkshire to raise funds for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance. Nearly 100 people attended the event, half of them nonmasons, who were entertained by a display. Martin Eades, Chief Executive of Yorkshire Air Ambulance was also present. Together with a later raffle the sum of £1500 was raised which was presented to Martin at Leeds/Bradford airport, the ambulance’s current base. The Air Ambulance doesn’t qualify for Lottery funding and requires substantial further investment, to which no doubt Yorkshire Freemasons will contribute.

Masons Help Fire Fighting in Devon

A lodge in Holsworthy, Devon answered a call for help from the local fire station earlier this year. Andy Squirrell, one of the newest members of Conciliation Lodge, No. 3483, mentioned that the local fire station, of which he is a member of the crew, needed funding for a vehicle satellite equipment. The members of the Lodge decided to buy the equipment, and the Master Charles Yelland and the Treasurer Martyn Squire were invited to the fire station to present it to the firemen.

Canonbury Masonic Research Centre

21 February: Philip Davies, Enoch and the Book of Genesis

21 March: Robert Gilbert, The Death and Resurrection of Christian Rosencreuz – Rosicrucianism in the 21st Century

18 April: Ricky Pound and Matthew Scanlan, Chiswick House – a Masonic Temple? Illustrated tour of Chiswick House and symbols

23 May: Colin Wilson, Cosmic Consciousness

20 June: Michael Buckley, The Development of Modern Martinism

Carole McGilvery 020 7226 6256 The Canonbury Academy, 6 Canonbury Place, London N1 2NQ email: mcgilvery@canonbury.ac.uk www.canonbury.ac.uk

Centre for Research into Freemasonry
Sheffield University

All seminars are held in the Douglas Knoop Centre, 34 Gell Street, Sheffield S3 7QW at 1pm unless otherwise stated. Admission free; all welcome.

23 January: Audrey Carpenter, Loughborough University. John Theophilus Desaguliers, Third Grand Master: A Mason of Many Parts.

6 February: Gill Cookson, Victoria History of the Counties of England. Freemasonry in Sunderland.

23 May: Cecile Revauger, Université de Bordeaux III. Freemasonry in 19th century Trinidad : Spanish, French and British identities

Seminars for 20 February, 6 and 20 March, 17 April and 10 May to be confirmed.

The Cornerstone Society

The Society is finalising its programme for 2007. The Spring/Summer Conference date and venue will be confirmed shortly.

A programme of Cornerstone Society lectures for lodges throughout the year is available. Several Cornerstone Society speakers, and others, are available to talk to lodges who have a gap in their programme, and who would like to explore some of the more fundamental aspects of Freemasonry. Interested lodges, and indeed chapters, are invited to contact us.

Exclusive lapel pin, enamel finish, with The Cornerstone Society’s distinctive logo is now available. Cost, including postage and packing, is £7.00 UK, £7.35 continental Europe and £8.15 USA and the rest of the world. Purchase the pin online on our website or write to the Secretary, enclosing payment.

Email secretary@cornerstonesociety.com or write The Secretary, The Cornerstone Society, ‘Bellfield’, 13 Victoria Road, Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, FY8 1LE.

Quotuor Coronati

Thursday 15 February J.S. Wade: Roman Eagle Lodge

Thursday 10 May J.F. Goodchild: Thomas, third Earl of Effingham

Thursday 28 June (held at Saxon Hall, Southend-on- Sea) Yasha Beresiner (masonic research): That Profit and Pleasure May Be the Result

Email: Yasha@intercol.co.uk Tel: 077 6829 2066.