Provincial Grand Lodge of Renfrewshire West Provincial Grand Lodge of Renfrewshire West

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The Grand Lodge of Antient Free and Accepted Masons of Scotland

William Ramsay McGhee, MStJ, D.L., Grand Master Mason

Brethren

I was very much heartened by a story that Brother Jim Ellis related to me. He received a message from one of our brethren in Cape Town stating that one of the positive things to come out of Covid is the fact that it has, through the weekly updates and Zoom meetings, brought the Brethren in the Districts much closer to Grand Lodge and to other Scottish Brethren than in the past. It has indeed been good to witness zoom meetings between Proxy Masters and their Lodges, meetings with the District Grand Masters and the ability to join in meetings throughout the world. Tomorrow, I’ll have the privilege of joining our Brethren in South Africa when they meet for their District Communication. Zoom is here to stay, and I have no doubt that it will continue to enable us to forge stronger links with our Lodges scattered throughout the globe.

On Monday evening I had the pleasure of giving a presentation to the Young Masons in the Province of Renfrewshire East and have asked them to make contact with another thriving Young Masons group here in the Province of Ross and Cromarty. There are no doubt similar groups in other Provinces and Districts – how good it would be to have greater inter Province and District meetings between such groups who are, after all, the future of our Craft. If those Brethren who organise Young Mason Groups drop Grand Secretary a line with their contact details he’ll happily arrange to have a list compiled and circulated to all the groups.

 
SCFS
 
 
 
  • The Group saw its membership rise to 5316 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 849, submitted by 295 of its members.
  • These updated contributions can now be attributed as to being made on behalf of 322 Lodges, from within all 32 Provincial Grand Lodges, 23 of its 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 Dumfriesshire, East Lothian, Edinburgh and Linlithgowshire.
  • The total identifiable monetary value of the contributions now recorded has risen to £1,347,091.
 

SCFS Overseas Report  

  • Our Overseas Membership has now risen to 1496 This is thanks to new members joining us from Lodges in the Bahamas along with Sierra Leone and The Gambia. 
  • Our membership of Brethren who belong to Lodges whose Grand Lodges are in amity with the GLoS (International Constitution Members) continues to grow ... we now have 678 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.
  • This week Brethren joined from 8different Masonic Constitutions, namely: GL of Ireland, Most Worshipful GL of the Philippines, UGLE(England, South America, Bombay), GL of Canada in the Province of Ontario, GL of Pennsylvania, National GL of Romania, Most Serene GL of the Republic of San Marino, Worshipful GL of Japan. 
  • A very special welcome was extended to Brother Massimo Tumiettowho is the Grand Chaplainof the Most Serene Grand Lodge of the Republic of San Marino. 
  • A most interesting post was received from Brother Horace Gock, JD, on behalf of Lodge Polynesia, No. 562, Suva, Fiji, sharing the Lodge’s remarkable, ongoing active support in assisting those families in the local community who have been most severely affected by the COVID-19 crisis. 

My grateful thanks to the members of the Young Masons Group in the Province of Renfrewshire East for their very warm welcome to their meeting last Monday.

Finally, as always, please stay safe and look after each other

Ramsay McGhee

Grand Master Mason


 
 
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The Grand Lodge of Antient Free and Accepted Masons of Scotland

William Ramsay McGhee, MStJ, D.L., Grand Master Mason

Brethren

I’m delighted to be able to tell you that the immense amount of hard work carried out by the strategy group and the five working parties has been recognised by the Administration Committee. They have given their support to the reports from the strategy group, all of which will now go to Grand Committee to take forward.

On Wednesday evening I had the privilege of attending a zoom meeting regarding Mental Health issues. The initiative has come from the Province of Fife and Kinross as a follow on to their Dementia initiative and is being supported by our Benevolence and Care Committee through Mrs Dawn Oliff. 23 of our 32 Provinces were represented but there will be a follow up and a new fact sheet is being prepared for dissemination to the Provinces and to our Districts. The meeting will also be available to download soon. It is vitally important that our Almoners, in particular, but all members in general can identify when a Lodge member is struggling with mental health issues and be in a position to offer help – the fact sheet will assist in this process. There has also been an offer to extend the Mental Health First Aiders training to any Province that would like to participate.

So sorry to learn this week of the deaths of two past Provincial Grand Masters – Brother Dixon J Drye, Past PGM of Renfrewshire East and Brother Andrew J Mitchell, Past PGM of Aberdeenshire West. Our sincere condolences are extended to their families and to the Provinces.

At the strategy group meeting on Tuesday, it was agreed that the members of the group will undertake a full review of the Covid advice and recommendations previously circulated as a result of the ever-changing political situation. Any changes will be notified to all Lodge Secretaries as soon as is practical. 

 
SCFS
 
 
  • The Group saw its membership rise to 5302 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 842, submitted by 293 of its members.
  • These updated contributions can now be attributed as to being made on behalf of 322 Lodges, from within all 32 Provincial Grand Lodges, 23 of its 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, Fife & Kinross, Linlithgowshire and Perthshire West. In addition, several posts were submitted on behalf of the Widows Sons Scotland East Chapter.
  • The total identifiable monetary value of the contributions now recorded has risen to £1,338,991.
 

SCFS Overseas Report  

  • Our Overseas Membership has now risen to 1494 This is thanks to new members joining us from Lodges in the Eastern Province of the Cape of Good Hope, Lebanon and Nigeria. We are now only 6 new Members away fromwelcoming our 1500th Overseas Member. 
  • The largest increase in membership was, once again, from the District of Lebanon, with the most Brethren joining from an individual Lodge, coming from Lodge Mount Lebanon, No. 1312.
  • Our membership of Brethren who belong to Lodges whose Grand Lodges are in amity with the GLoS (International Constitution Members) continues to grow with another 21 new ICMs joining this week ... we now have 669 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.
  • This week Brethren joined from  9different Masonic Constitutions, namely: the GL of Japan, UGLE (England, Bombay, Uruguay), GL of South Africa, United GL of Bulgaria, Most Serene GL of the Republic of San Marino, United GL of Victoria, Most Worshipful GL of the Philippines, GL of Greece, GL of India. 
  • A very special welcome was extended to Brother Emidio Troianiwho is the Grand Master of the Most Serene Grand Lodge of the Republic of San Marino. 
  • A most interesting post was received on behalf of Lodge Mulu, No. 1821, Sarawak, in the District of the Middle East, sharing the Lodge’s active support in rolling out the Covid-19 vaccine in Malaysia. 
  • The immediate response of Lodge Dural Takzim, No. 1836, also in the District of the Middle East, to a personal appeal by the Malaysian Red Crescent Society, resulting in a substantial donation of PPE support, was also published. 

 

Finally, as always, please stay safe and look after each other

Ramsay McGhee

Grand Master Mason


 
 
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The Grand Lodge of Antient Free and Accepted Masons of Scotland

William Ramsay McGhee, MStJ, D.L., Grand Master Mason

Brethren

As you will all be aware by now, we look forward to hopefully being able to resume Masonic activity at the start of the new season in the autumn. We should be aware that it will be a phased return to our meetings, depending on the restrictions that may be in place by then. However, there is hope and we now have the ability to start planning for the return.

The strategy Group will be meeting next week, and I will ask them to start revising and updating the advice to Lodges at home and abroad on what will be required to ensure a safe return to our meetings. Government advice and rulings change frequently, and it is important that we keep up to speed with those developments. I am also looking to our District Grand Masters and Grand Superintendents to ensure that all our Lodges are compliant with the advice and legislation in each country.

The Grand Lodge Administration Committee will also be meeting next week when much of the agenda will be taken up with discussion on the recommendations from the strategy group in respect of the five main issues that were identified in the survey. The strategy group and their working parties have produced a significant amount of material to be considered by the Administration Committee and I thank them for their efforts. There is still much work to be done regarding the long-term strategy, but bringing the material that has been researched and dealt with to the Administration Committee is a major milestone in our future development.

 
SCFS
 
 
 
  • The Group saw its membership rise to 5264 Brethren from not only the Scottish Constitution but from many of our Sister Constitutions throughout the world.
  • This week the total examples of charitable giving recorded within the group rose to 830, submitted by 291 of its members.
  • These updated contributions can now be attributed as to being made on behalf of 322 Lodges, from within all 32 Provincial Grand Lodges, 23 of its 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 Aberdeen City, Dumfriesshire, East Lothian, Edinburgh, Galloway, Glasgow, Inverness-shire, Linlithgowshire, Midlothian & Orkney & Zetland.
  • The total identifiable monetary value of the contributions now recorded has risen to £1,328,938.
 

SCFS Overseas Report  

  • Our Overseas Membership has risen to 1489 This is thanks to new members joining us from Lodges in Central South Africa (RSA), Jamaica, Lebanon and Western Australia. We now look forward to welcoming our 1500th Overseas Member this coming week. 
  • The largest increase in membership was, once again, from the District of Lebanon.
  • Our membership of Brethren from Lodges whose Grand Lodges are in amity with the GLoS continues to grow. We now have 648 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 respective constitutions.
  • This week Brethren joined from 9different Masonic Constitutions, namely: the National GL of Romania, GL of Victoria, GL of Alberta, GL of Maryland, United GL of Queensland, UGLE (England, Nigeria), GL of Canada in the Province of Ontario, GL of India. 
  • In addition to the above, the list of Grand Lodges represented by Brethren within them joining as ICMs had the Most Serene Grand Lodge of the Republic of San Marino added to it. 
  • A very special welcome was extended to Brother Mirko Granwho is the Grand Secretary of the Most Serene Grand Lodge of the Republic of San Marino. 
  • A very interesting post was received from Lodge Northcliffe, No. 1086, in the District of Newfoundland and Labrador, showing its support of the Y2C Youth Centre which provides a safe interaction place for local 12-18 year olds in Grand Falls, NL. 

My sincere thanks to the members of the three Chapters of the Widows Sons for their very warm welcome to their zoom meeting last Wednesday. It was a pleasure to meet with you all.

Finally, as always, please stay safe and look after each other

Ramsay McGhee

Grand Master Mason


 
 
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The Grand Lodge of Antient Free and Accepted Masons of Scotland

William Ramsay McGhee, MStJ, D.L., Grand Master Mason

Brethren

During the past week I have been involved through the Lieutenancy with the Queen’s Green Canopy initiative. For those of you who have not heard of the programme, it is a unique tree planting initiative created to mark Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022 which invites people, individuals and organisations, from across the United Kingdom to “Plant a Tree for the Jubilee.” 

We are already looking at planting at the two Masonic Homes, but it occurred to me, that as one of the major issues arising from the International Masonic Survey was raising our public profile, this initiative would present a tremendous opportunity to do just that. All our Lodges, at home and overseas could participate whether by planting a tree(s) in the grounds of the Lodge or getting involved in the community by taking a lead and encouraging other organisations to assist in the scheme.  It would be good to be able to report that trees were planted in each of our Provinces and Districts.

There is an excellent Queen’s Green Canopy webpage which can be accessed at – https:// queensgreencanopy.org – I commend the page to you and would encourage all Provincial and District Grand Masters along with our two Superintendencies and individual Lodges to seriously consider participating.  Planting will begin in October but there would be planning and preparation to be done before then. I would welcome your feedback and an indication from the Provincial and District Grand Masters whether or not you will be participating.
 
SCFS
 

The Group saw its membership rise to 5238 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 818, submitted by 290 of its members.

These updated contributions can now be attributed as to being made on behalf of 322 Lodges, from within all 32 Provincial Grand Lodges, 23 of its 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 Argyll and the Isles, Dumfriesshire, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Linlithgowshire, Midlothian, Perthshire East & Stirlingshire.

The total identifiable monetary value of the contributions now recorded has risen to £1,301,888.

SCFS Overseas Report  

  • Our Overseas Membership has risen to 1483 This is thanks to new members joining us from Lodges in Barbados, Chile, Middle East (Thailand), and the Western Province of the Cape of Good Hope. 
  • The largest increase in membership was, once again, from the District of Lebanon, with the most Brethren joining from an individual Lodge, this week, coming from Lodge Al Arz, No. 1853.
  • Our membership of Brethren who belong to Lodges whose Grand Lodges are in amity with GLoS continues to grow. We now have 635 Brethren (ICMs) 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.
  • This week Brethren joined from 6different Masonic Constitutions, namely: the National GL of Romania, GL of Massachusetts, GL of Nigeria, GL of Ireland(Zimbabwe), UGLE (England, South Africa), and the GL of South Africa. 
  • A very special welcome was extended to Brother John Smithwho is the Most Worshipful Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of South Africa. 
  • Brother Beng Hock Teo, District Grand Secretary of the Middle East, shared a post on behalf of Lodge Api-Api, No. 1826, in Sabah, Malaysia, showing the outstanding support of that Lodge for poor and distressed flood victims whose homes had been severely damaged / swept away during an extremely severe storm in that area. 

Those Lodges whose social clubs are now open will be aware of the necessity to deploy a track and trace system. If you haven’t already done so but would like to create a QR code to assist in the process, go to -

Create a Check In Scotland QR code poster - mygov.scot

My sincere thanks to the Brethren of the Province of Aberdeenshire East for their kind invitation to be with them last Monday night to discuss the way forward. Thoroughly enjoyed being with you.

I was in Barrhead this week to attend a funeral and took the opportunity to visit Lodge Union and Crown’s “Sausage Club” on Wednesday morning. What a great idea – held in the social club, properly socially distanced, utilising track and trace, obeying all the rules but offering a safe environment for Brethren, especially older Brethren, to come in, have a roll and sausage, a cup of tea but most of all the chance to meet up with their friends and have a good old blether. It was great to be there and enjoy their company. I understand there is a similar club in Paisley – well worth thinking about anywhere just to give the Brethren, especially those on their own, the opportunity to meet up and socialise in a safe, familiar and friendly location.

Finally, as always, please stay safe and look after each other

Ramsay McGhee

Grand Master Mason


 
 
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The Grand Lodge of Antient Free and Accepted Masons of Scotland

William Ramsay McGhee, MStJ, D.L., Grand Master Mason

Brethren

 After my excitement last week about getting the fibre optic cable into Grand Lodge, I’m afraid I have to tell you this week that it didn’t happen. The weekend wasn’t a total lost cause as our IT manager and the main contractor completed a power of work inside the building but, once again, we have been let down badly by the sub-contractor who has been engaged to bring the fibre optic cable into the building. The Grand Secretary and our IT Manager are on the case and are pursuing the next step – hopefully I will have better news very soon.

Further to the advice sent out recently on procedures for re-opening Lodges, I can now inform you that Grand Secretary will be in touch with Provincial Secretaries very soon with information on an excellent deal that has been negotiated by Grand Treasurer to purchase “Fogger Machines”. Basically, the deal is as follows but Grand Secretary will circulate full details to the Provinces.

 

Bundle Per Lodge:

  • 1 x ULV-50 Pro Fogger - £465.00 plus VAT
  • 3 x TriGuard 5 Litres - £53.25 plus VAT                                               (£17.75 plus VAT per unit)
  • 2 x TriGuard 750ml - £9.70 plus VAT                                                  (£4.85 plus VAT per unit)

Discount per lodge bundle - £251.00 plus VAT

Total Price - £276.95 plus VAT Per lodge Including Free next day delivery.

Grand Committee has already agreed that these devices can be purchased through Lodge Benevolent Accounts.

 
 
SCFS
 

The Group saw its membership rise to 5216 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 806, submitted by 289 of its members.

These updated contributions can now be attributed as to being made on behalf of 320 Lodges, from within all 32 Provincial Grand Lodges, 23 of its 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, Fife & Kinross, Kincardineshire, Lanarkshire Upper Ward, Linlithgowshire, Perthshire East, Perthshire West & Stirlingshire.

The total identifiable monetary value of the contributions now recorded has risen to £1,286,648.

This represents an average of £22,975 per week over the last 56 weeks.

 

SCFS-Showcase 

 

SCFS Overseas Report  

As a result of new members joining from Lodges in East Africa (Uganda), Fiji, Jamaica, Lebanon, KwaZulu Natal, Malawi, Middle East (Malaysia), Sierra Leone and The Gambia, Sri Lanka, Trinidad & Tobago and Grenada, and the Western Province of the Cape of Good Hope, our Overseas Membership has now risen to 1476 Brethren.

The largest increase in membership was from the District of Lebanon, with the most Brethren joining from an individual Lodge, this week, coming from Lodge Lebanon, No. 1312. 

Our membership of Brethren belonging to Lodges whose Grand Lodges are in amity with the GLoS continues to grow. With the addition of 36 new International Constitution Members (ICMs), we now have 622 Brethren spreading news of the wonderful support, featured in the posts on the main SCFS page and on the new SCFS-Showcase, throughout their constitutions.

This week Brethren joined from 12 different Masonic constitutions, namely: GL of Ireland, UGLE, United GL of Victoria, GL of India, GL of South Africa, United GL of Queensland, GL of California, GL of Japan, GL of Canada in the Province of Ontario, GL of Kansas, GL of Norway, and a significant number from the National GL of Romania.

Very special welcomes to the SCFS group are extended to Brother Paul Kneller, WM, Royal Gloucester Lodge, No. 130, Hampshire & Isle of Wight, UGLE, who is our 600th ICM, to Brother Felix Pintado, Grand Chaplain of the Grand Lodge of Victoria, and to Brother Donald Smith, Past Grand Master, currently Grand Treasurer, of the Grand Lodge of Japan.

A number of most interesting posts were received :

Lodge Robbie Burns, No. 860, Brother Shane White, RWM, and the SMCF of Western Australia, supporting the vulnerable youth within the community through “Youth Futures.”

The Caledonian Lodge of Kampala, No. 1815, Uganda, supporting Belitwegomba School of Blind. 

District Grand Lodge of Central South Africa supporting the Cancer Association of South Africa

Lodge Api-Api, No. 1826, Malaysia, supporting villagers through its Covid-19 Food Aid Programme. 

 

My sincere thanks to the Brethren of the Province of Argyll and the Isles for their kind invitation to be with them last Wednesday night to discuss the way forward.

Finally, as always, please stay safe and look after each other

Ramsay McGhee

Grand Master Mason


 
 
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The Grand Lodge of Antient Free and Accepted Masons of Scotland

William Ramsay McGhee, MStJ, D.L., Grand Master Mason

Brethren

 

The Update is being circulated a day earlier this week due to the fact that the entire IT system in Grand Lodge will be closed down from Thursday night until Monday to accommodate preparations for the new fibre optic cable being brought into the building and the resultant upgrades that will be required on all devices in Grand Lodge being implemented. This has been a long time coming but at last we are working towards wi-fi throughout the building which will enable improved functionality to our communication applications such as Zoom. It will also mark the beginning of various hardware and software changes being implemented under the direction of our IT manager, Willie Rice.

The Strategy Group met on Tuesday. It was a very productive meeting with four out of five reports ready to go to the Administration Committee for their consideration. The fifth report was only received minutes before the meeting, but it will be forwarded as soon as the Strategy Group have a chance to go through it. The members of the five focus groups have worked well and have produced excellent final reports – I extend my grateful thanks to all those Brethren who have been involved.

 
SCFS
 

The Group saw its membership rise to 5142 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 792, submitted by 286 of its members.

These updated contributions can now be attributed as to being made on behalf of 319 Lodges, from within all 32 Provincial Grand Lodges, 23 of its 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 Perthshire West.

The total identifiable monetary value of the contributions now recorded has risen to £1,258,495.

SCFS-Showcase 

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SCFS Overseas Report  

  • As a result of new members joining from Lodges in Lebanon, Malawi, Mauritius, Middle East (Singapore), Sierra Leone and The Gambia, and also Trinidad & Tobago and Grenada, our Overseas Membership has now risen to 1458
  • The largest increase in membership was jointly from the District of Sierra Leone and The Gambia and the District of Trinidad & Tobago and Grenada. Interestingly, no two Brethren who joined from those Districts came from the same lodge. 
  • Our membership of Brethren belonging to Lodges whose Grand Lodges are in amity with the GLoS continues to grow. With the addition of 25 new International Constitution Members (ICMs) this week, we now have 586 Brethren spreading news of the wonderful support, featured in the posts on the main SCFS page and on the new SCFS-Showcase, throughout their constitutions.We look forward to welcoming our 600th ICM next week. 
  • This week Brethren joined from 13 different Masonic constitutions, namely: GL of Norway, UGLE(England, Trinidad & Tobago, Bombay, Eastern Archipelago), GL of Chile, GL of India, United GL of New South Wales and ACT, GL of British Columbia and Yukon, GL of California, GL of Norway, GL of Spain, MWGL of the Philippines, GL of Japan, GL of Victoria.
  • In addition to the above, the list of Grand Lodges represented by Brethren within them joining as ICMs had the Grand Lodge of New Zealand added to it. 
  • A very special welcome to the SCFS group is extended to Brother Sanjiv Chhibber,who is a Past Deputy Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of India. 
  • A most interesting post was received from Brother Charles Stewart, in his capacity as HM and Proxy WJW of Lodge Civil and Military, No. 726, in Bermuda, showing the continuing charitable support from that Lodge and our other 2 Lodges in Bermuda. 

My sincere thanks to the Brethren of the Province of Fife and Kinross for their kind invitation to be with them on Wednesday night to discuss the way forward.

Finally, as always, please stay safe and look after each other

Ramsay McGhee

Grand Master Mason


 
 
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The Grand Lodge of Antient Free and Accepted Masons of Scotland

William Ramsay McGhee, MStJ, D.L., Grand Master Mason

Brethren

Many of our Masonic Clubs will be preparing to open their doors again as the country moves from Level 3 to Level 2 at which time indoor drinking will be permitted in 2-hour time slots with closing at 22.30 hours. I am aware that the management teams of many of our Clubs subscribe to the SLTN (Scottish Licensed Trade News). In the May edition there is a good two-page article that covers many of the essential areas that our clubs will require to comply with in relation to track and trace, physical distancing, cleaning, loud behaviour, ventilation, two-hour time slots and so on. During my 18 years involvement with the Licensed Trade, I found the SLTN to be an excellent tool to keep up to speed with the many developments taking place in the trade – one of the regular contributors is Jack Cummins who is recognised as one of Scotland’s leading licensing lawyers. If you don’t subscribe but would like to do so, contact Russell Pharo - 0141 567 6000 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Our Lodges in the Districts, Superintendencies and those who report directly to Grand Lodge should ensure that they adhere to the licensing legislation of their respective countries.

Next week promises to be a busy one with a Zoom meeting on Monday night to celebrate the granting of a Charter to Lodge St James (Kilwinning) Tarbolton No 135 250 years ago, whose Depute Master from 1784 to 1788 was our National Bard, Robert Burns. The Strategy Group meets on Tuesday to prepare their final submissions to the Administration Committee, the History and Heritage meeting on Wednesday will feature the District Grand Lodge of Newfoundland and Labrador and in the evening, I will have the pleasure of being with the Provincial Grand Lodge of Fife and Kinross. Thursday, Grand Secretary and I will be attending the annual Tripartite Meeting with the United Grand lodge of England and the Grand Lodge of Ireland. At the end of the week there will be a second 250th Zoom meeting, this time with Lodge Thistle No 127 in Stewarton.

Our Homes and Charities Manager, Mrs Dawn Oliff informs me that as part of the ongoing Dementia Awareness Initiative, the Dementia Awareness Team has received details of the launch of ‘Knowledge is Power’. It is aimed at people who are living with Dementia but some of the details contained therein will also be of relevance to other illness groups.  The booklet can be downloaded using the link -  Knowledge is Power English booklet single page.pdf (lifechangestrust.org.uk

It is also hoped to release details in the near future for the Mental Health and Wellbeing Initiative Zoom presentation.

 
SCFS

 The Group saw its membership rise to 5098 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 788, submitted by 285 of its members. These updated contributions can now be attributed as to being made on behalf of 319 Lodges, from within all 32 Provincial Grand Lodges, 23 of its District Grand Lodges, Superintendencies and Lodges under the direct supervision of Grand Lodge.

With the addition this week of £45,264, the total identifiable monetary value of the contributions now recorded has risen to £1,251,837.

Change in Criteria for posts

Whereas the purpose of the group, when it was originally set up, was to record and share examples of contributions being made to individuals, groups and charities in the face of the COVID-19 crisis, its scope has now been widened to include any and all charitable donations and acts by Freemasons operating under the Scottish constitution.

SCFS-Showcase 

 The public facing page SCFS –Showcase, which regularly publishes selected posts from the SCFS group, has been active now for 12 days. During this short period, it has reached 6071 people, had 1038 post engagements and 464-page likes. It is hoped that this page, which can be viewed by anyone, will demonstrate to the wider public the contributions being made by Scottish Constitution Freemasons throughout the world. The team at SCFS would welcome your support and assistance in achieving this objective and would be grateful if you would consider sharing this page with your non-Masonic friends and family. The page can be accessed by clicking the following link - SCFS-Showcase

SCFS Overseas Report  

  • As a result of new members joining from Lodges in Barbados, Bermuda, Far East (South Korea), Middle East (Malaysia), North Island New Zealand, Panama, and Sierra Leone and The Gambia, our Overseas Membership has now risen to 1448
  • The largest increase in membership was from the District of the Far East, with the most Brethren joining from an individual Lodge coming from Lodge Harry S. Truman, No. 1727, in that district. 
  • Our membership of Brethren belonging to Lodges whose Grand Lodges are in amity with the GLoS continues to grow. We now have 561 Brethren spreading news of the wonderful support, featured in the SCFS posts, throughout their constitutions.
  • This week Brethren joined from 7different Masonic constitutions, namely: GL of California, GL of Quebec, GL of Massachusetts, GL of Michigan, United GL of Victoria, UGLE (England), GL of South Carolina. 
  • Brother Martin Weekes, PM/Secretary of Lodge St. George, No. 200, in Bermuda, sent in an extremely interesting post featuring the support previously provided by his Lodge, and also Lodge Somers Isles, No. 1503 and Lodge Civil and Military, No. 726. 
  • Brother Beng Hock Teo, District Grand Secretary of the Middle East, shared an uplifting post on behalf of Lodge Mulu, No. 1821, showing the Duit Raya support of that Lodge to orphans in Miri Orphanage, Malaysia, during Bulan Ramadan.


Finally, as always, please stay safe and look after each other

Ramsay McGhee

Grand Master Mason


 
 
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The Grand Lodge of Antient Free and Accepted Masons of Scotland

William Ramsay McGhee, MStJ, D.L., Grand Master Mason

Brethren

Last week Grand Committee circulated the 1st edition of the guidance for re-opening Lodges. Can I stress the fact that the documentation is guidance – given the diverse nature of our Lodges, it is impossible to find a one size fits all solution. The guidance will be updated regularly by the Administration Committee as Government Guidelines and local circumstances change. I would appeal to Provincial and District Grand Masters to ensure that the guidance notes are adapted to suit local needs.

On Wednesday afternoon we enjoyed the first presentation in Series 4 of the History and Heritage lectures when Brother Dr Kang Tee Yong gave us a very interesting and informative lecture on the history of the District Grand Lodge of the Middle East. There were some concerns that having the lecture at 13.00 hours due to the time difference might not work but contrary to that, the presentation attracted an audience of 145 Brethren.

The next lecture in the series will be at 13.00 hours on Wednesday12th May from our District Grand Lodge of Gibraltar.

 
SCFS

 and - SCFS-Showcase 

The Group saw its membership rise to 5082 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 771, submitted by 282 of its members.

These updated contributions can now be attributed as to being made on behalf of 319 Lodges, from within all 32 Provincial Grand Lodges, 23 of its District Grand Lodges, Superintendencies and Lodges under the direct supervision of Grand Lodge.

The total identifiable monetary value of the contributions now recorded has risen to £1,206,573.

This represents an average of £22,765 per week over the last 53 weeks.

 

SCFS Overseas Report 

  • Our Overseas Membership has now risen to 1436 This is thanks to new members joining us from Lodges in Central South Africa (Transvaal), Sierra Leone and the Gambia, Western Australia, Trinidad & Tobago and Grenada. 
  • Our membership of Brethren who belong to Lodges whose Grand Lodges are in amity with GLoS continues to grow. We now have 552 Brethren spreading news of the wonderful support, featured in the SCFS posts, throughout their constitutions.
  • This week Brethren joined from 10different Masonic constitutions, namely: GL of Canada in the Province of Ontario, GL of the Philippines, United GL of New South Wales and ACT, GL of Ohio, GL of India, GL of China, GL of South Africa, GL of Newfoundland and Labrador, UGLE (England, South Africa). 
  • In addition to the above, the list of Grand Lodges represented by Brethren within them joining as ICMs had the Grand Lodge of Alaska added to it. 
  • A very special welcome is extended to Brother Charles Ward, who is the Deputy Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Alaska. 
  • Brother Beng Hock Teo, District Grand Secretary of the Middle East, sent in a wonderful post showing Brother GK Dass, Almoner, Lodge Scotia, No. 1003, Penang, demonstrating care and support at the Penang Covid-19 Vaccination Centre. 
  • Another very interesting post by Brother David Slingsby, Lodge Southern Cross, No. 398, showed the District Grand Lodge of the Western Province of the Cape of Good Hope supporting firefighters with donations of sustenance as they fought a fire at the University of Cape Town. 

 

My sincere thanks to the Provincial Grand Master and Brethren of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Renfrewshire West for their very warm and much appreciated welcome on Wednesday night. The presentation attracted an audience of 230. I find it truly amazing to see what we have all been able to achieve thanks to the power of Zoom.

Finally, as always, please stay safe and look after each other

Ramsay McGhee

Grand Master Mason


 
 
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