The Grand Lodge of Antient Free and Accepted Masons of Scotland
William Ramsay McGhee, MStJ, D.L., Grand Master Mason
Brethren
The recent spell of good weather has brightened everyone up – it’s good to see people with a smile on their face again. The beaches here on the Black Isle have been full of tourists enjoying the sun, the sand and the Moray Firth dolphins – hopefully it will continue for a few weeks yet.
A few weeks ago, our Depute Grand Master, Brother Tom Smith organised a zoom meeting between the Proxy Masters of our Lodges in the District Grand Lodge of the Middle East and the Brethren of the Lodges – it was very successful with only two Proxy Masters unable to be present. I am hosting a similar meeting this Monday with the Lodges in East Africa but am struggling to get any more than four responses from the Proxy Masters which is disappointing to say the least. The Proxy Master system plays a vital role in communication between our Lodges abroad and Grand Lodge and very many brethren get immense pleasure and satisfaction communicating with their Proxy Lodges – keeping them up to date, helping where they can and, when we get back to normal, meeting up with members of the Lodges when they visit Edinburgh.
Brother Jim Jack has done an amazing job in bringing the system up to date, but its success depends solely on the commitment of those who put themselves forward as Proxy Masters.
With products like Zoom, it makes contact with Lodges much easier and exercises such as we will have on Monday night enable the Brethren of the Lodges to put a face to the name. The Brethren in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania are all looking forward to Monday night – it will be a first for us all – but will, I’m sure go a long way in cementing the relationships between East Africa and Edinburgh.
- The Group saw its membership rise to 5442 Brethren from not only the Scottish Constitution but from many of our Sister Constitutions throughout the world.
- This week saw the total examples of charitable giving recorded within the group rise to 871, submitted by 299 of its members.
- These updated contributions can now be attributed as to being made on behalf of 324 Lodges, from within 55 of its Provincial Grand Lodges, District Grand Lodges, Superintendencies and Lodges abroad under the direct supervision of Grand Lodge.
- During the week posts were submitted by group members representing the Provinces of Edinburgh, Midlothian and The Scottish Borders.
- The total identifiable monetary value of the contributions now recorded has risen to £1,356,632.
SCFS Overseas Report
- Our Overseas Membership has risen to 1534 This is thanks to new members joining us from Lodges in the Districts of the Far East(Philippines) and Lebanon.
- Our membership of Brethren who belong to Lodges whose Grand Lodges are in amity with GLoS continues to grow. We now have 736 Brethren spreading news of the wonderful support featured in the posts on the main SCFS page and on the increasingly popular SCFS-Showcase,throughout their constitutions.
- During this week, the expanding reach of SCFS was seen by the fact that Brethren joined from 8different Masonic Constitutions, namely: GL ofSpain, MWGL of the Philippines, UGLE (England, Bombay, South Africa North), GL of Canada in the Province of Ontario, GL of Pennsylvania, GL of Georgia, GL of Maryland.
- In addition to the above, the list of Grand Lodges represented by Brethren from within them joining as ICMs had the GL of Ghanaadded to it.
- Brother Gopala Krishnan Dass, Almoner, Lodge Scotia, No. 1003, Penang, Malaysia, in the District of the Middle East, shared a post, via Brother Beng Hock Tao, PDG Secretary, showing the Lodge’s support of 50 local fishermen’s families in the form of providing food packages.
My sincere thanks to the Brethren of Lodge Polkemmet for their very warm welcome on Monday night. It was a real pleasure to meet with you.
Finally, as always, please stay safe and look after each other
Ramsay McGhee
Grand Master Mason