As a Craft Lodge in New South Wales, Canoblas Lewis is subject to the rules & regulations imposed upon us by The United Grand Lodge of NSW & ACT. That being said, all Masonic Lodges are slightly different; displaying a character that is unique to the lodge in question.
Canoblas Lewis has it's own flavour & what distinguishes Canoblas Lewis from the Other Masonic Craft Lodges in the Central West area is very subtle in many ways; but, we think that any man will get a very positive experience from attending Lodge with us.
Primarily, We are Fun!
Further We like to give a Man a reason to get out of the House on a Monday Night, that isn't specifically Drinking, Sporting Or Carousing based! We have found that our Wives & Partners like the fact that we are off for a couple of Hours in a structured night out that is specifically NOT at the Pub!
In fact, like most lodges, we offer a man a chance to socialise amongst other men, but, with out singing "Kumbaya" or being Misogynistic.
We are Progressive in our practice, yet we do like the Masonic Traditions. When working in the Lodge, we very much like to have a Sincere Lodge experience for all & we hope that visitors also experience the earnest manner in which we conduct lodge.
Additional our general good will, we offer our members the chance to grow their Masonic Career in a manner that suits them personally; thus we do not force the newly raised brother into positions in the Lodge, we do not force the "Elder Statesmen" of our lodge "back into the Chair" just because no-one else wants to; We do offer our members the chance to participate & grow the craft in a manner that the members themselves are comfortable with. To this end, we include the Brother Outer guard in the activities of Lodge Canoblas Lewis - In the same way that we appreciate all the efforts of our members.
Most importantly, We Let Bygones be Bygones & just get on with making lodge as enjoyable as possible for all our members!
If you think that You'd like to join Lodge Canoblas Lewis, please e-mail Brother Secretary or contact us through this blog, the Google+ or Facebook page.
So Mote it Be
Despite the "Tongue in Cheek tone" of this post, Canoblas Lewis is not denigrating other bodies & groups. If Freemasonry isn't for you there are many other positive groups in our city that you may care to join
Wednesday 6 May 2015
How do I Join a Masonic Lodge?
So, How do you Join Lodge Canoblas Lewis?
The Simple rule is: That you must first Ask to join!
That is all!
You must make an application to the Lodge; the members will then vote on your application.
It gets slightly more complicated in the details, but the process is not that bad, we (Lodge Canblas Lewis) will start the ball rolling with the applications & such
In order to assist the process, There is a simple question that you have to answer: Are you a Mason already?
If Yes:
Come along & Apply to join our Lodge; However, you will need to contact your Mother Lodge to "Call Off" your membership if you do not want to pay both Lodges membership fees.
If you are an Unattached Mason (that is having a Lapsed Membership, or, not currently belonging to a lodge) you should come to a regular meeting & then make it Known that you wish to join Lodge Canoblas Lewis. You will need to have finalised your financials with your former Lodge (or Lodges)
If No:
Is Your Father a Mason? If Yes, please have them sponsor you; as the Son of a Mason you have the privilege of being made a Mason before all others!
Do you Know Any Masons? If Yes, please have them Sponsor you on your application - they will be glad to see a friend join the craft.
If Not; No Worries! A few years ago, Grand Lodge came up with the Masonic Assistance Scheme (MAS). This allows good men to join a lodge without knowing any Masons.
Lodge Canoblas Lewis has frequently used the MAS where appropriate for its membership applications; to be honest, most of the members that have joined Lodge Canoblas Lewis through the MAS have really been glad they did!
If you are interested in this application to Join us Using The Masonic Assistance Scheme, please contact the Lodge Secretary by e-mail or use the links through Google+ or Facebook or through this Blog.
Here is the United Grand Lodge Link on How to Become a Freemason: Click Here! It will give you some additional information about Freemasonry in general.
We look forward to meeting you at a meeting
So Mote it Be!
The Simple rule is: That you must first Ask to join!
That is all!
You must make an application to the Lodge; the members will then vote on your application.
It gets slightly more complicated in the details, but the process is not that bad, we (Lodge Canblas Lewis) will start the ball rolling with the applications & such
In order to assist the process, There is a simple question that you have to answer: Are you a Mason already?
If Yes:
Come along & Apply to join our Lodge; However, you will need to contact your Mother Lodge to "Call Off" your membership if you do not want to pay both Lodges membership fees.
If you are an Unattached Mason (that is having a Lapsed Membership, or, not currently belonging to a lodge) you should come to a regular meeting & then make it Known that you wish to join Lodge Canoblas Lewis. You will need to have finalised your financials with your former Lodge (or Lodges)
If No:
Is Your Father a Mason? If Yes, please have them sponsor you; as the Son of a Mason you have the privilege of being made a Mason before all others!
Do you Know Any Masons? If Yes, please have them Sponsor you on your application - they will be glad to see a friend join the craft.
If Not; No Worries! A few years ago, Grand Lodge came up with the Masonic Assistance Scheme (MAS). This allows good men to join a lodge without knowing any Masons.
Lodge Canoblas Lewis has frequently used the MAS where appropriate for its membership applications; to be honest, most of the members that have joined Lodge Canoblas Lewis through the MAS have really been glad they did!
If you are interested in this application to Join us Using The Masonic Assistance Scheme, please contact the Lodge Secretary by e-mail or use the links through Google+ or Facebook or through this Blog.
Here is the United Grand Lodge Link on How to Become a Freemason: Click Here! It will give you some additional information about Freemasonry in general.
We look forward to meeting you at a meeting
So Mote it Be!
Tuesday 5 May 2015
Why the Dinner Suit?
We are often asked: Why do Freemasons attend meetings in a Dinner Suit?
Lodge is a formal occasion; thus Masons everywhere dress in a respectful manner when attending their lodges, the most realistic respectful manner is the Dinner suit.
Black Tie.
Rather than Goth & Emo total black, jeans Tee Shirt & boots, we like the look of the Black tie and the dinner suit, in single OR double breasted cut (we don't mind which style of dinner jacket is worn to lodge...)
Meaning: A Tux if you are North American. Being Black Tie (bow tie), Black Jacket, Black Waistcoat, Black Pants, White Shirt
Otherwise known as: A Bag o' Fruit, Monkey Suit, or (my Favourite) The Penguin Suit
A piccie can be stolen from here if you need to see a Dinner Suit...
But, Specifically, we (Canoblas Lewis) are asked; How come you have a Dinner Suit requirement, when others do not? If you look at the internet, many lodges have differing dress standards, some lodges are in the "Business Casual" dress category, others are in Near Bikie level of dress...
BUT not Canoblas Lewis!
We are kind of formal; meaning we wear a black dinner suit. Which leads us to the original question about why do we wear a dinner suit to a meeting?
Well, I am glad you asked:
Because it makes life easy!
That is you have a uniform. on a lodge night, put on your Dinner Suit, grab your apron & go! In the past, a dinner suit was the one piece of formal clothing that everyone had; thus a Dinner Suit was a formal piece of attire, but it was an inclusive piece of attire. Today, the dinner suit is relegated to school formals & such, but, by having a nice suit, Lodge is still recognized as a formal occasion.
Because it looks good!
How many times have you heard the ladies say: "Gee, you look nice in that suit"? How good does it feel to wear a suit, in a room full of blokes that are wearing the same style
And , Importantly, because James Bond wears one!
Hey, No matter which James Bond actor you prefer, they all looked great in a dinner suit & therefore we think we do too. No matter how badly it fits, not matter how expensive or cheap it was, we all are James Bond Cool in ours! Just we don't have the Martini's to match.
Mainly Because it is traditional!
As many lodges were formed in a time when things were far more formal times, Lodge Canoblas Lewis likes the way that we are upholding a tradition that would otherwise be fading away.
So that is the flippant reply; but, as with all good stories, their is a bit more to it.
The Grand Lodge of NSW & ACT's guidelines, suggest that evening lodges wear dinner suits, whereas day lodges should wear Lounge suits. As Canoblas Lewis is an Evening Lodge, the Dinner Suit guideline applies; but be aware, we take the guideline as just that, a guideline!
There are other rules that apply, but let's not go there at the moment, as it is just a little too boring for us to re-print!
So Mote It Be!
Lodge is a formal occasion; thus Masons everywhere dress in a respectful manner when attending their lodges, the most realistic respectful manner is the Dinner suit.
Black Tie.
Rather than Goth & Emo total black, jeans Tee Shirt & boots, we like the look of the Black tie and the dinner suit, in single OR double breasted cut (we don't mind which style of dinner jacket is worn to lodge...)
Meaning: A Tux if you are North American. Being Black Tie (bow tie), Black Jacket, Black Waistcoat, Black Pants, White Shirt
Otherwise known as: A Bag o' Fruit, Monkey Suit, or (my Favourite) The Penguin Suit
 |
| Black Tie... on a contrasting yellow background to show the blackness of the tie! |
But, Specifically, we (Canoblas Lewis) are asked; How come you have a Dinner Suit requirement, when others do not? If you look at the internet, many lodges have differing dress standards, some lodges are in the "Business Casual" dress category, others are in Near Bikie level of dress...
BUT not Canoblas Lewis!
We are kind of formal; meaning we wear a black dinner suit. Which leads us to the original question about why do we wear a dinner suit to a meeting?
Well, I am glad you asked:
Because it makes life easy!
That is you have a uniform. on a lodge night, put on your Dinner Suit, grab your apron & go! In the past, a dinner suit was the one piece of formal clothing that everyone had; thus a Dinner Suit was a formal piece of attire, but it was an inclusive piece of attire. Today, the dinner suit is relegated to school formals & such, but, by having a nice suit, Lodge is still recognized as a formal occasion.
Because it looks good!
How many times have you heard the ladies say: "Gee, you look nice in that suit"? How good does it feel to wear a suit, in a room full of blokes that are wearing the same style
And , Importantly, because James Bond wears one!
Hey, No matter which James Bond actor you prefer, they all looked great in a dinner suit & therefore we think we do too. No matter how badly it fits, not matter how expensive or cheap it was, we all are James Bond Cool in ours! Just we don't have the Martini's to match.
Mainly Because it is traditional!
As many lodges were formed in a time when things were far more formal times, Lodge Canoblas Lewis likes the way that we are upholding a tradition that would otherwise be fading away.
So that is the flippant reply; but, as with all good stories, their is a bit more to it.
The Grand Lodge of NSW & ACT's guidelines, suggest that evening lodges wear dinner suits, whereas day lodges should wear Lounge suits. As Canoblas Lewis is an Evening Lodge, the Dinner Suit guideline applies; but be aware, we take the guideline as just that, a guideline!
There are other rules that apply, but let's not go there at the moment, as it is just a little too boring for us to re-print!
So Mote It Be!
Book review - Dan Brown's "The Lost Symbol"
A recent talk in the South was a book review by one of the newer members of Lodge Canoblas Lewis.
 |
| The Book in Question... |
Brother Meagher had recently picked up a copy of the Hit Novel "the Lost Symbol" at the Orange Public School Book Fair; this is a fund raising event for the Orange Public School, where various second hand & donated books are offered up for sale to the general public, with all funds raised going to the school. It is a really good value event with books sold @ $1/2.5 cm of spine width. It is a good event as it supports reading & the pleasure of holding a book.
So, onto the review:
The Lost Symbol is quite simply a rollicking read. It is in the tradition of the early pulp paperbacks of old, or the block buster reads of the current generations (or, is very similar in style to Brown’s other Block Buster “the Da Vinci Code”), in that the fast paced story in fact takes place in a single 24 hour period with the protagonists Good v Evil, performing tasks & stunts that would push the ordinary man to the outer limits; as well as having plots twists & turns that defy the reader to lose attention! It has it all, love interests, family issues, world issues, trauma, devotion beyond the ordinary persons understandings... you name it, it is there.
One of the very Masonic themes is on the gaining of wisdom by practice & the consequences of power without the wisdom to manage it's responsibility; A young man that has it all, but has a hollow life & should have looked at his Masonic oaths as a mantra to live by, rather than a means to gain power ... Just like Spiderman said: Great Power requires great responsibility. Maybe Spiderman is a Freemason too?
In a lot of ways, the Masons look a bit like Ye Olde Tyme Jedi Knights... Except we ware rather spiffy dinner suits in Lodge Canoblas Lewis & the rules of the fraternity specify that you do not bring weapons into a Lodge!
Whilst the story is great & exciting, we found the ending rather anticlimactic & a bit of a let down really... to be honest the ending was weird & in the opinion of those that read it, it didn't fit with the rest of the book. Despite this, as a whole, Canoblas Lewis is of the opinion that the ending did endorse the masonic practice of acceptance of differing religions in lodge... we would have preferred the secret to be really cool, like, Captain America and Spiderman actually got their super powers through Freemasonry or, that a Masonic Temple can take you to Mars (the planet, not the confectionery).
We think it would have sounded far cooler! I suppose it is just as well that Canoblas Lewis didn't write the book; who knows where we would have taken the plot!
From a Masonic perspective a lot of the masonic images mentioned in the book are very true. It shows that he has certainly done his homework; however, he does have a few misleading pieces in the book that to us were out-dated; although, in his defence, this could be the difference in practice of the Washington DC lodges when compared against NSW lodge practices; this is one of the cool aspects of freemasonry - being that different areas all have different "takes" on what Masonry is.
The fun aspect of a lodge is very present in the book. The importance of guarding tradition is present too. The feel of the rituals (being ancient) is present as well; this gives the reader the sense that Freemasonry is Fun & Rewarding - which is very true.
At this point, despite Dan's depiction of masons in overall positive ways, we should point out that Masons can not levitate. Or talk telepathically. Or start fires by mind power. Nor can we breath under water. Well at least not in a Lodge of Master Masons... Maybe the 33° degree Brethren of the Scottish Rite lodges can!
As Canoblas Lewis is a craft lodge for Apprentices, Fellow-crafts & Master Masons, the mysteries of the 33° Scottish Rite are not known to us, however our resident 33° member said they were "kind of" accurate in "some parts" of the Book - He DID have a twinkle in his eye when he said this...
It may surprise the lay person but, there are many different varieties of Freemasonry. Thus, even though the higher degrees meet at the Orange Masonic Center, Canoblas Lewis is none the wiser to what happens in those meetings than any layperson AND long may it stay that way!
Anyway, we (The Brethren of Lodge Canoblas Lewis # 806) heartily recommend this book as a good read to anyone; BUT, to those out there that wish to see what actually goes on in a lodge, feel free to Come Along & perhaps Join Lodge Canoblas Lewis # 806 to see the realities
We are sure that you would love it as much as we do
So Mote It Be!
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