On the evening of 21st May the brethren at The Lodge of Dawn hosted our 66th annual Junior Masters Night.
This is an event which gives the members of our lodge who are not yet ‘on the ladder’ (i.e. not yet holding an office in regular lodge) a chance to perform a First Degree Ceremony in the main temple in front of the brethren of the lodge as well as their guests.
Shortly before 6pm the team of junior brethren arrived at Castle Grove in dinner suits, ready for the event which was to follow. For the previous five months, rehearsals had been held every week under the direction of the Preceptor of Junior Lodge, W Bro. Philip Myers.
Any last minute nerves were shaken off, and the Junior Masters and gathered brethren took their seats in the temple for what would be a wonderful, albeit challenging, evening.
Bro. Sam Fryer, who for that evening was Master of the Lodge, entered accompanied by his Deacons and Director of Ceremonies to perform a genuinely fantastic ceremony. Of the brethren that delivered ritual that night, only one holds an office in regular lodge so to see ritual delivered at such a high calibre by brethren so new to the lodge was genuinely wonderful to behold. The ‘candidate’ for the night was W Bro. Simon Fellerman; an officer of Grand Lodge and Trustee/Board Member of the Masonic Charitable Foundation as well as initiating Bro. Fryer into The Lodge of Dawn, father-in-law, whilst also ‘illegally squatting’ in Bro Fryer’s home (according to Bro. Fryer but disputed by W Bro. Fellerman 😃).
Along with the brethren of The Lodge of Dawn and their guests, attendees to the ceremony included members of Grand Lodge, Provincial Grand Lodge, and a variety of lodges from across the Province who all came along to offer their encouragement and support.
After what was a brilliant ceremony, the brethren retired to The Olive Branch in Alwoodley where W Bro. Myers as Director of Ceremonies led an evening of toasts and speeches at the festive board. Bro Fryer spoke eloquently and passionately about his time in masonry and gave his thanks to those in attendance, those who supported him as Junior Master, and his team who performed the ceremony with him.
Over £300 was raised for Alzheimer’s Prevention and the MCF from donation and the charity raffle.
Bro. Sam, Junior Master for the night said, “What a magnificent evening! It was an honour to pretend-initiate my father in law, Simon. Particularly given he initiated me in 2016! I’m so proud of the team. All the hard work everyone put in really paid off. I am extremely grateful to W Bro. Philip Myers for all his support too”.
See the gallery of images below from the Festive Board at The Olive Branch in Alwoodley. (All pictures by Howard Barnett).
Joining The Lodge of Dawn
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