Minster Lodge Opens it’s doors to the Public
Minster Lodge opened its doors to the public on a fine sunny but crisp day on Saturday 7 November.
A sign was prominently displayed at the entrance to the lodge car park which announced “Lodge Open Day”. A welcome sign was displayed at the door of the lodge and it wasn’t too long before the first visitors arrived through the doors.
The brethren of the lodge were standing by to greet the visitors with a warm welcome and a smile and after signing the visitor’s book visitors eagerly started looking for bargains from the various stalls within the dinning room of the lodge.
Things began to get busy at about 10.30am onwards right up to the closing of the doors at 2pm and with all the brethren taking groups of people round the building there was no time to spare. Well over a hundred visitors entered the lodge and almost all of them were given a tour of our premises.
The type of people visiting varied; there was a mixture of men and women, a couple of them with young children. The age group was mixed but predominantly young to middle age. Both the men and women showed a great interest in what they heard and saw from their tour guides. They were particularly interested in the Lodge Room and were amazed to see how rich and ornate the room was, with so many different signs, symbols and beautiful old furniture. They were happy to simply listen to their guides and asked the occasional question.
It is fair to say that all the visitors left with a good impression of what Freemasonry was all about. They could not thank the guides enough for letting them have a look into the world of Freemasonry.
Several of the visitors had fathers and grandfathers who had or were still Masons. They even brought old Masonic documents that had once belonged to them to find out information about them. In one case a visitor call Mr John Piercy presented one of the brethren with an old Masonic book which had belonged to his father, also called John Piercy and upon inspection it was his Installation Programme from the time he was installed into the chair of King Solomon in 1954.
By the end of the event the brethren and their ladies were feeling somewhat fatigued but filled with a sense of achievement having had the opportunity of meeting the public and letting them have a glimpse into our world of Freemasonry in the twenty-first century.
To sum up the Open Day it can truly be said to have been a great experience for both the brethren and their visitors.
After the closing of the lodge doors the weary brethren and their ladies made for home only to return a couple of hours or so later, reinvigorated, and ready to have an evening of entertainment together and reflect on the day’s event.
Charity Dinner
The Charity Dinner, in aid of raising further funds for the PGM’s appeal into the research into Prostate Cancer, was soon underway and everyone looked forward to the evening together.
The Worshipful Master, W. Bro. James Crichton, welcomed everyone and introduced Professor Norman Maitland and Dr. Fiona Frame and thanked them for joining the other Minster Lodge guests at this function.
After dinner Professor Maitland gave a short address and promised not to go into the finer details of Prostate Cancer prior to having dinner! but he did enlightened his audience with an update of how his young scientists, at York University, were progressing in their research into finding the causes and treatment of this form of cancer which affects so many men today.
It was felt by all concerned that the day had proved to be a great success not only with regard to the Open Day but also the fundraising in aid of the PGM’s appeal to provide Professor Maitland and his team with the funds to accelerate his research into finding the causes and treatment into Prostate Cancer.
The total amount raised by Minster Lodge towards the PGM’s Prostate Cancer Appeal amounted to £1,111.00.
The Worshipful Master Jim Crichton with Professor Norman Maitland and Dr. Fiona Frame
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