In a letter thanking the Lodge for an excellent evening at the annual meeting last October, the representative of the Provincial Grand Master, Wbro David S. Bibby PAGDC, wrote that “what was very impressive, and the first time he had seen it, was that we performed a full 1st degree after the installation and performed it to a very high standard”. He also commented that our candidate Bro Colin had an excellent introduction into Freemasonry.
This is the third successive year that Lodge Temperance has performed a degree after the installation ceremony, so it’s not new to us and all of our degrees are performed to a very high standard.
Historically, it was quite usual to perform multiple degrees with multiple candidates on the same evening. For example at the annual meeting in 1916 Lodge Temperance performed a full installation followed by the initiation of five candidates. Master Elect Bro Roderick Urquhart was installed in the East followed by the initiation of John William Hodgson, Allan Craig, Harry Travis, Roland Campbell and John Henry Suckling.
Today, the UGLE book of constitutions rule 168 limits the conferring of a degree to no more than two candidates on the same day, but in the early 1900’s Lodge Temperance 2557 routinely performed a degree with up to five candidates and on occasion multiple candidates with two degrees. At the regular meeting on Monday 17th January 1916 two candidates were initiated into the mysteries and privileges of Freemasonry and five passed to the 2nd or Fellowcraft degree – all in one evening and by the same degree team!
Keep checking back for all the latest news from Lodge Temperance 2557.
