Sergeant Les welcomed everyone with the line "Welcome to the best club in D9640".
Alain commented on the findings of the Banking Royal Commission and raised a toast to the Mortgage Broking industry.
President Pauline echoed Les' welcome and made particular mention to our Honorary Members Ian & Uwe and past president Brian Pearson. Pauline also reported on the Charter meeting of the new satellite E Club that the majority of its members are past RYLA Awardees and hence has the vibrancy of youth.
Uwe reported that he had visited Keith Hawton who had a number of visitors including Ken Rosewall. Keith was in good spirits.
Neil Jones reported that there would be no sausage sizzle this week as Bunnings were doing a National promotion in support of flood victims. We will be offered a Saturday sizzle to compensate. Nasser responded to a request to fill a vacancy on the 11am shift on Friday 1 March.
John Monks reported on the recovery of our stolen van and paid tribute to the efforts of Queensland Police. When recovered, the perpetrator was asleep in the van which had stolen plates and was full of stolen gear including 15 sets of house keys. The van had done 1500km in the 12 days after it was stolen. The police needed to retain the van for a period due to it containing a lot of stolen gear following which our insurers will also require it for complete check. John managed to convince Suncorp that it was vital we had a van to continue our community service in the interim and they agreed to provide a loan vehicle at no cost to the club. Well done John.
Kevin and Bruce were Bunyips for the night. Harold won the raffle and tried to donate the wine to Nayer who does not drink. Nasser won heads and tails and donated his prize to Sergeant Les.
President Pauline introduced our guest speaker Noel Hodges adding she was looking forward to his address as both her father and husband had been Masons.
Noel presented his talk in three very distinct sections:
Why is Freemasonry so secretive?
The stonemason guilds on which modern Freemasonry is based date back to the building of King Solomon's Temple in biblical times and were formed to protect and verify the skills of stonemasons.
In medieval times craftsmen were bonded to the land on which they were born and couldn't move without permission. Stonemasons were in high demand and because the projects of the time needed large numbers they were granted the freedom to travel as their work demanded. Hence the term Freemason.
In those times few could read and write so the Freemason Guilds developed secret handshakes and passwords to identify the level of proficiency a stonemason had achieved. There were 3 levels (Entered Apprentice, Craftsman & Master) and each had a different handshake & password enabling their proficiency (and hence their wages) to be determined at each new work site. For this reason they were closely guarded secrets which have been maintained to this day but are now the only secrets kept in Freemasonry.
What Does Freemasonry do?
A worldwide organisation for men dedicated to self development in ethics, morality and charity. It seeks to induct good men into its Order and strives to make better men of them by constantly reminding them of the duties they owe to their family, friends, neighbours, people in distress and to their God. Freemasonry contributes significant monies to charity and is actively involved with many charitable organisations.
Noel's Lodge has about 50 members and has a waiting list for initialisation (only one induction is allowed per meeting). Worldwide membership is five million.
What happens at Masonic Meetings?
Freemasons meet in a lodge usually once each month. They wear a dinner suit and an apron which has its origins from the apron worn by stone masons to protect themselves from stone chips.
The Master of the Lodge presides over the meeting (chairman) with some other members who hold positions of rank. Each meeting is scripted according to a ritual which has been used for centuries and is known off by heart by all involved. The first part of the meeting is for business (minutes accounts and projects are dealt with). The second part involves the ritual for whatever degree in which the meeting has been opened and may include initialising a new candidate, raising members to a higher degree or installing a new Master and his officers. All this is done in formal ceremony which is centuries old. Lodge meetings are followed by a light meal away from the formal ceremony area and is called the Festive Board.
Noel concluded by taking numerous questions indicating the interest of members.
John provided an update on our van and is seen here with the loan truck
The loan truck is handy for moving scooters The window bars now installed at the Hub
Harold won the raffle Nasser won Heads & Tails
Noel enlightened everyone about Freemasonry and was duly thanked by Pres Pauline
OK, so it seems still to be a long way off but accommodation will soon become hard to get - some places are already fully booked.