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The Newsletter of the Committee on Masonic Education |
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Remember the old shibboleth "Freemasonry is not a secret society: it is a society with secrets"? Or that Masons don’t advertise good works, their existence alone is sufficient? Masons often hide good works, like the proverbial light, under a bushel. Even things done for our members are rarely advertised. Whether or not this is a good thing is as much a matter of personal taste as of policy. But our "light" should be revealed where it is for the potential betterment of all Masons. Such, my Brethren, is The Newsletter of the Committee on Masonic Education. About twenty-four years ago a few Ontario Freemasons saw the need for a small quarterly newsletter about the philosophy and morality behind the ritual. During 1977-78, R. W. Bro. Wallace McLeod, then Chairman of Masonic Education, prepared and released four issues. By the fall of 1980, the first issue of The Newsletter was prepared by the then editor, R.W. Bro. David C. Bradley (now Most Worshipful Brother; GM 1989-90 and 1990-91), under the authority of R. W. Bro. McLeod. Since that time The Newsletter has evolved and now contains articles on our history, ritual, symbolism, philosophy, protocol and masonic personalities. The Newsletter is self-financed through subscriptions. To be successful the Newsletter Editor relies on articles from all Masons in the Jurisdiction. This became increasingly difficult during the mid 1990s and as those of you who subscribed well know, the content of The Newsletter contained fewer articles from Ontario Masons and an increasing number of reprints from other jurisdictions and was, in fact, moving away from its original purpose and focus. By 1998 publication was halted. The Newsletter was resurrected during 2000-01 and is now running smoothly under the firm control of the Publisher, R. W. Bro. Paul Todd. W. Bro. Michael Jenkyns has been appointed as Editor, an Editorial Board oversees content and direction (R. W. Bros. Ray Daniels and Mike Woolley and W. Bros. Doug Franklin and Iain Mackenzie) and R. W. Bro. Garry Dowling handles subscriptions, production and mailings. This group of skilled and dedicated Masons shares two visions with regard to The Newsletter (a) to produce, on time, an exciting, well-written, informative, Canadian |
content Newsletter, four times a year and (b) to increase readership and to expand the contributor base. In many (not all) Districts a contact point for The Newsletter has been identified: their purpose is to encourage subscriptions and articles for The Newsletter. Many Districts have their own "Newsletters" published under a variety of names. We are very pleased to see Districts are using material directly from The Newsletter and we would like to encourage this. Newsletter material is there for all to use and we would like to think that it "shines like a beacon" as an aid to all. For those of you who received Vol. 16 No. 4, or glanced at the copy provided to all Lodge Secretaries, you will notice changes from earlier issues, intended to provide input for a "Masons tool kit", including: "Custodian’s Corner" (by M. W. Bro. C. Edwin Drew: items and issues not always covered in Lodges of Instruction), "Book Nook" (by R. W. Bro. Wallace McLeod: reviews of books of interest to Ontario Masons), "Questions of the Fraternity" (by W. Bro. Iain Mackenzie: challenging our knowledge of the Craft) and Further Light (encouraging an "education bent" for Masons, such as The Heritage Lodge and the College of Freemasonry). The issues for 2002 are mapped out and involve challenging articles including a series of articles on the role and directions of the Board of General Purposes and each of its Committees; articles on Ontario’s Grand Masters and Masonic Premiers; and a variety of articles on items of historical and symbolic interest. Join us. This is your organization. This is your Newsletter. Subscriptions - $18.00 annually for four issues. Cheques payable to The Newsletter. Send subscriptions (including your name, address, Lodge name and number and District name and number) to: 81 Naomee Cres., London, ON N6H 3T3. Articles of interest, not exceeding 1200 words, in
electronic form (WordPerfect or MSWord) or good quality typewriter copy
(suitable for scanning) should be sent to the Editor: |