Grand Lodge of Canada in the Province of Ontario

Lodge Secretary Virtual Workshop: The first workshop will be on Saturday, November 21, 2020 starting at 9:00 am and finishes at 11:00 am. The topics include a number of areas which Lodge Secretaries are responsible for. A lot of thought has been put into designing the program by very knowledgeable past secretaries.

On behalf of the Grand Lodge Masonic Education Committee we are pleased to announce the next in our monthly speakers series: MASONIC DRESS PRESENTED BY BRO. J. A. Shapira If you are interested in attending with brethren from across our Grand Jurisdiction, please RSVP here: https://forms.gle/H8tvozTSq6F55tAY9... The Grand Lodge Masonic Education Committee Speaker Series will take place monthly, typically on the first Saturday of each month at 7:15 pm EST. We will have a wide variety of speakers over the course of the year. We welcome all masons of every rank and from every lodge. We also encourage candidates to join us if they are interested. The event will begin with fellowship from 6:45 pm - 7:15 pm EST, with the program of the evening beginning at 7:15 pm. Invitations for the meeting will be sent out roughly 24 hours prior to the event. They will contain the link you need to access the presentation. Questions and comments may be directed directly to W. Bro. Don Kemball at: [email protected]

Grand Lodge of Canada in the Province of Ontario in partnership with Brock University presents 2020 Sankey Lecture Series in Masonic Studies Lecturer: Prof. Cé...cile Révauger, University of Bordeaux (Montaigne), France Lecture title: "Enlightenment, Gender and Race: Personal Reflections on Leading Issues in Masonic Studies" Prof. Révauger will tell the audience about major themes from her long and active career as an expert on the history of Freemasonry in Europe and the Americas. Date: Sunday, Nov. 15, starting at 2 pm Eastern Time The event is expected to last approximately 2 hours. Audience questions are welcome after the presentation. They can be submitted via a moderated chat connection. Tickets: No tickets are necessary, but you are welcome to sign up for a ticket if you would like to receive information about future events in this series. How to attend: The event on Nov. 15 will be live-streamed. To join the event, go to this link: http://2020.sankeylectures.ca/

Grand Lodge of Canada in the Province of Ontario in partnership with Brock University presents 2020 Sankey Lecture Series in Masonic Studies Lecturer: Prof. Cé...cile Révauger, University of Bordeaux (Montaigne), France Lecture title: "Enlightenment, Gender and Race: Personal Reflections on Leading Issues in Masonic Studies" Prof. Révauger will tell the audience about major themes from her long and active career as an expert on the history of Freemasonry in Europe and the Americas. Date: Sunday, Nov. 15, starting at 2 pm Eastern Time The event is expected to last approximately 2 hours. Audience questions are welcome after the presentation. They can be submitted via a moderated chat connection. Tickets: No tickets are necessary, but you are welcome to sign up for a ticket if you would like to receive information about future events in this series. How to attend: The event on Nov. 15 will be live-streamed. To join the event, go to this link: http://2020.sankeylectures.ca/

COVID-19 Update October 09, 2020 Brethren, The second wave of COVID-19 is unfortunately upon us. This has led to increased case counts throughout the Province and even to levels higher than they were last April. As a result, the Grand Master has extended the cancellation of in-person Masonic gatherings across the Province. The cancellation of all in-person Masonic meetings and events in the Province has now been extended until AT LEAST January 31, 2021. We will continue to mo...Continue reading

On behalf of the Grand Lodge Masonic Education Committee I am pleased to announce the next in our monthly speakers series: SACRED GEOMETRY: THE GOLDEN RATIO & THE FIBONACCI SEQUENCE PRESENTED BY BRO. MITCHELL ALLISON If you are interested in attending with brethren from across our Grand Jurisdiction, please RSVP here: https://forms.gle/CtV89Yco45preUWC6... The Grand Lodge Masonic Education Committee Speaker Series will take place monthly, typically on the first Saturday of each month at 7 pm. We will have a wide variety of speakers over the course of the year. We welcome all masons of every rank and from every lodge. We also encourage candidates to join us if they are interested. Candidates should RSVP to me directly at [email protected] Invitations for the meeting will be sent out roughly 24 hours prior to the event. They will contain the link you need to access the presentation. Questions and comments may be directed directly to me at [email protected] Sincerely & Fraternally, W. Bro. Don Kemball Zeredatha Lodge 220 GLCPOO Education Committee

On behalf of the Grand Lodge Masonic Education Committee we are pleased to announce the first in our monthly speakers series. HIRAMIC MEDITATIONS: HOW FREEMASONRY CRAFTS A STOIC LIFESTYLE PRESENTED BY W. BRO. DANIEL MOLINA If you are interested in attending with Brethren from across our Grand Jurisdiction, please RSVP here: https://forms.gle/s6Ha9HD7qME1GRTQ8... The Grand Lodge Masonic Education Committee Speaker Series will take place monthly, typically on the first Saturday of each month at 7 pm. We will have a wide variety of speakers over the course of the year. We welcome all Masons of every rank and from every Lodge. We also encourage candidates to join us if they are interested. Candidates should RSVP to W. Bro. Don Kemball directly at [email protected] *Please Note: the meeting will be held on GoToMeeting (not Zoom). Please make sure you have downloaded appropriate apps/software ahead of time. Questions and comments may be directed to W. Bro. Don Kemball at [email protected]

Announcing our partnership with Feed Ontario! As of this Thanksgiving, we, the Freemasons of Ontario, will provide the financial equivalent of 450,000 meals to Feed Ontario over the next three years! Our support will specifically support investment into the food bank network's fresh food capacity and service standards to ensure local food banks have the resources and knowledge to provide the best supports available to families in their time of need.... In addition to our partnership through the Masonic Foundation of Ontario, we encourage all our lodges to partner with their local food banks across Ontario through volunteering, fundraising, and other local-level partnerships. #thankfulthursday #ontariomasons

Aug. 17, 2020 Brethren, By staying home our province has flattened the curve and probably gotten through the first wave of COVID-19. But the virus is not gone. We must continue to be wary of the 3 Cs: closed spaces, crowded places and close contact. Re-opening too early in other places around the world has led to a resurgence of infections. Waiting to see the impact the opening of schools in September would seem to be wise. With the incubation period of this virus, we won’t b...e able to assess that impact until it’s almost October. Some jurisdictions are going ahead and hoping nobody dies. Others, like Scotland, have simply called off meetings until January 2021 at the very earliest. Taking into account the conditions in our province and our neighbours, and our underlying philosophy of thinking of the health and safety of our brethren first, we will take a balanced approach. The cancellation of all Masonic meetings and events in the Province has now been extended until AT LEAST October 31, 2020. We will continue to monitor and adjust as the situation evolves. So, it is suggested that, while waiting to be able to re-open, lodges have virtual education sessions on their regular lodge night, followed by a social chat on-line. Grand Lodge will be setting up GoToMeeting accounts for each district. Your DDGM can then set up a schedule for each lodge to use it in turn. It makes the most sense to have it on your regular meeting night. In the few cases where two lodges in the district meet on the same night, they will have to negotiate an alternative. Or perhaps they could both meet together an opportunity rarely experienced in former times! The COO will be sending the details to your DDGMs. Stay healthy and remain concerned about the health of those around you. David J. Cameron Grand Master

July 28, 2020 Brethren, As the province starts to open up again from the pandemic, I have been thinking a lot about lodges re-opening, so here are some thoughts. I was asked what category do I think lodge meetings fall into? My first response was that there really is no category that we fall neatly into. In some ways we are like churches and other places of worship, but Masonry is not a religion and our rites and ceremonies are nowhere near as important as that. So we’re not ...Continue reading

Happy Canada Day!

COVID-19 Update May 29 2020 Urgent Update Brethren,... Cancellation of the Annual Communication: It is with a great deal of regret that we announce the formal cancellation of the Annual Communication of the Grand Lodge of Canada in the Province of Ontario to be held July 13-16 at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel in Toronto. Cancellation of Rooms at the FRYH: The Hotel has advised that all reservations booked under the Grand Lodge A.F. & A.M. of Canada hotel block (GRAN0720001) will be automatically cancelled. If your room booking was NOT made under the group reservation code, then you will have to contact the Hotel directly. Further communication regarding plans for dealing with the fallout of the cancellation will be communicated as soon as they are known. Cancellation of Masonic Gatherings: The cancellation of all masonic meetings and events in the Province has now been extended until AT LEAST August 31 2020. Please follow any local governmental ordinance that extends this further. Based on the above it will not be necessary to send out any cancellation notices via the Grand Lodge Events Digest for specific events occurring prior to August 31. Fraternally, Garry D. Garry Dowling, Grand Secretary

Becoming a Mason doesn't make you a better person. Oh wait, yes it does. #freemasonry #freemason #makinggoodmenbetter #notjustaman

COVID-19 Update from the Grand Master May 13, 2020 re: Annual Communication 2020 (update from the Grand Secretary follows) Brethren,...Continue reading

COVID-19 Update April 20 2020 April 20 2020 Brethren, Once again, we hope that by observing the health guidelines set down by our federal and provincial Health Authorities, you and your families are staying healthy.... Let’s also offer a tremendous vote of thanks to those front line workers who are putting their health and the health of their families at risk every day. Your Grand Lodge leaders are doing their best to keep abreast and hopefully ahead of things as they develop. Once again your patience and understanding is very much appreciated. We congratulate all those brethren who are finding innovative ways to stay in touch. We have received mail and internet links to many great Lodge Summons, District electronic Newsletters, education pieces and many more. Temporary Policies new this week (Apr 20) This week, just a couple of items to communicate. Cancellations: The cancellation of all masonic meetings and events in the Province has now been extended until AT LEAST July 02 2020. Please follow any local governmental ordinance that extends this further. Based on the above it will not be necessary to send out any cancellation notices via the Grand Lodge Events Digest for specific events occurring prior to June 30. Annual Communication: We are still evaluating all aspects of the Annual Communication and the many options that we have before us. Our plans are to make the necessary decisions within the next couple of weeks. At that time, all action plans will be distributed using the same mechanism that was used to deliver this communication to you. Expiry Date of Pending Applications: Regarding Section 356 of the Book of Constitution requiring another ballot if six months expires from the date of acceptance. We note that the months that the lodge is in recess are not counted. The months that we are not in session due to COVID-19 will also not count. In the meantime, as we stated earlier, the overriding, all important factor is that our provincial health organizations and our governments say we need to STAY HOME. Fraternally, Garry D. Garry Dowling, Grand Secretary

COVID-19 Update April 08 2020 April 08 2020 Brethren,...Continue reading

Covid-19 Update April 02 2020 April 02 2020 Brethren, On behalf of your Grand Lodge leadership, we felt that is was once again time to communicate to you with some details of policy decisions made, event scheduling , etc. as a result of the continuing Covid-19 crisis....Continue reading

Due to concerns raised by Brock University in regards to COVID-19 and at their request, the Sankey Lecture scheduled for Sunday March 22nd, 2020 has been postponed. As soon as a new date has been finalized, everyone will be advised.